Case 3: “Farming is Who I Am”

The respondent is 57 years old, male, married with 4 children. He started working in

Hacienda in a year 1981 – 2004. When he was young, this was his first job, his work in the

hacienda is cutting sugarcane and sometimes he is the one who grazes different animals. Here he

also found his wife. Until they got married and made this their main source of income so they

could support their children.

According to the respondent because of working in the hacienda they were able to send

their children to from elementary school to high school. On the other hand, because of the

change before the season, sometimes they don't have income because they don't have work in the

hacienda, because it rains. According to him, every time it rains they were given a food and some

money and the next salary will be deducted for what they spent during the rainy season.

In a year 2004, working in the hacienda stopped, meaning no work, no income. the

couple has no choice to find work outside. According to the respondent, he was employed as a

construction worker who earns 250 pesos a day and this is what they spend in a daily basis while

his wife just stays at home to take care of their children. The beauty here, he said, was that no

one stopped his children from studying. But when they went to college, they could no longer

support them because going to college in those days had a tuition fee.

According to the respondent, the Department of Agrarian Reform has distributed to

farmers more than one hundred hectares of land in Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac. Apart from the

land that they got separately, they also received a lot for them to build their home. They planted

it with rice and corn, since the couple got two plots of land, half with rice and the other half with

corn. Sometimes it's just rice and vice versa, and he planted it himself.
 He said the land given by the Department of Agrarian Reform was a great blessing,

because of this he was able to graduate his two children from college. and bought three

motorcycles and household appliances. he earns a lot here because his wife was also given land,

never mind that he farms two lands. he farms it for 4 months and every time he harvests, he earns

235 thousand, and this is what they will use for the next 4 months because he will start planting

rice again.

According to the respondent, before he achieved the life they enjoy now, he went through

many trials. especially in planting rice, because he said he was unable to attend the program of

Department of Agriculture seminars regarding the care of crops. Therefore he himself who

persevered how the process on farming and planting rice. He made many mistakes and

sometimes his income was very little, but he did not give up. Even though he didn't know how to

plant, the soil itself taught him. He learned from his experiences, and he loves planting it was his

life, he added. He has to do a lot of work every day. He always gets the early start of the day to

complete his work in time. This becomes his habit. He goes to the fields early in the morning. He

spends his whole day in the field taking care of his crops. But the income is not always high,

sometimes their income only goes to pesticides and fertilizers in rice fields. and they are losing

money. the fertilizer provided by Department of Agriculture is not enough to be used in four

months. So, he puts out his own money for his crops, his only request is to increase the amount

of fertilizer given to them so that they can somehow save even in small amount.

According to him, he thought about selling it, but he always chose not to. because it will

benefit his family until his grandchildren. His children tell him to sell it, but he insists not to sell

it. According to him, even if you have problems, at least you have land that you can plant, if you

can't grow rice, you can plant plants that are easy to take care of. don't get into the habit of
complaining, you just really need a positive mind in life he added. “We are very lucky to have

been given a land, it’s hard, I'm not joking. But I love farming, this is who I am, you just have to

be strategic and do not give up” he said.