Shiela Moso Maglines, 37, a resident of Brgy. Nongnong, Butuan City is courageous, persevering, diligent, and innovative. She is the voice of local farmers in her village and the pillar of hope behind the many challenges that hound farmers such as poverty, pandemic, insurgency, rising prices of fertilizers and other inputs, and the lack of opportunities for farmers. By rising above adversities, leading people, and contributing to socio-economic transformation makes Shiela an embodiment of an empowered woman in agriculture.

As an empowered woman, one might ask, what made her the person she is today?  If one follows her back story, one would realize that it was the adversities in her life that made her strong and steadfast. To cite, the constant clash between communist rebels and government troops in Nongnong many years ago did not torment her, instead, it molded her into becoming a resilient and courageous woman.

Hopelessness did not get the better of her even though she was in a place full of neglect and underdevelopment. Shiela recalled that back then the ride to Nongnong was bumpy, dark, and dangerous (due to the presence of armed elements). Because of the poor road condition, public transportation was seldom available, delivery of basic services was lacking, and marketing of farm produce was a great challenge. But instead of feeling desperate, Shiela felt an impulse to rise above these hardships and do something to upturn the situation.

The first thing she did was to accumulate as much knowledge as possible on technologies to increase farm production. This inner drive led her to the Agricultural Training Institute – Regional Training Center 13 located in Barangay Los Angeles, Butuan City. Through ATI, she was able to join several techno forums and training on cassava, corn, and banana productions.   Furthermore, she was able to participate in the Digital Farmers Program (DFP) 101 and 102 where she learned different mobile applications and ICT tools on agriculture which she used to promote her products and boost her production and income.

She also expanded her networks and partnerships with private organizations and government agencies where training opportunities, government programs, and free services abound.

At the Department of Agriculture – Regional Field Office 13, Shiela availed free seeds and a shredding machine. On the other hand, the City Agriculture Office of Butuan has provided her with training, farm advisories, technical support, seeds, fertilizers, and other farm inputs.

In order for farmers to have bargaining power, she organized the Nongnong Farmers Association where she is the chairperson since 2019. With 50 farmers at her helm, she hopes local farmers get a better price and more support from the government.

Further on, Shiela also joined other organizations such as the Butuan City Fruits and Vegetables Farmers Federation Incorporated, Butuan City Organic Producers and Processors Association, and the Women of Organic Agriculture Association – Caraga Chapter purposely to seek help and share knowledge from farmers in other local government units.

Guias Integrated Farm

Currently, Shiela is the farmer-cooperator of Guias Integrated Farm. Its 18-hectare area is owned by her partner, an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW). It was certified by ATI as a Learning Site for Agriculture (LSA) in 2020. Her farm’s main commodity and biggest income earner is the Cardaba banana. She also has vegetables, fruit trees, coconut, and corn. She also rears ducks, chickens, and goats. As a practicing organic farmer, she grows worms (African Nightcrawler) where its castings (waste products) are mixed with food wastes and bedding materials to produce vermicompost which is used as organic fertilizer and soil conditioner. Aside from vermiculture/vermicomposting, Sheila also showcases hydroponic technology and Good Agriculture Practices (GAP) on banana for farmers to emulate.

“We tried our best to be certified as LSA because we want to help farmers learn new technologies. I also open my farm for them in case they want a meeting venue. I offer it for free as long as this will benefit them,” Shiela remarked.

In order to generate local employment, she hired around 6-10 farm workers solely from Nongnong. Most of them are stay-ins while a few are hired as on-call workers, especially during land preparation, fertilization, and harvesting seasons.

As an active LSA, the Guias Integrated Farm was a recipient of extension support from ATI such as ICT and training equipment and the dispersal of goat, duck, and chicken.

Women Empowerment

Shiela has proven that the role of women in agriculture is not only limited to sowing, tending animals, processing and preparing food, and other manual labor. They can also take an active role in farm management decisions and in organizing and leading farmer’s groups.

Through her leadership, she was able to link the Nongnong Farmers Association to the city government of Butuan. The group was able to get technical, financial, and extension support such as training and farm equipment.

In the near future, marketing vegetable products will be a lot easier because of the city’s AgriBOOST project. This is an innovative idea conceptualized to address challenges in boosting the competitiveness of farmers through technical and resource support, demand-driven production, and reliable farm gate pricing. By next year, Shiela and other vegetable farmers can easily link with buyers through mobile applications, thereby cutting off layers of middlemen.

Having seen the benefits of organizing farmers, Shiela is now taking the lead in consolidating corn farmers from neighboring barangays into one cluster in order to avail of DA’s program that will provide them with technical, financial, extension, marketing, and machinery support. So far, she has already spoken to two barangays with a consolidated farm area of 60 hectares. She is hopeful of reaching 200 hectares soon and eventually qualifying for the farm clustering program.

Other Prospects

Shiela said she is eyeing the Farm School accreditation from TESDA. The processing of documents and other requirements is underway. She is positive that her farm will become a Farm School very soon. That will be another opportunity for farmers to become farm experts and communication multipliers on new and appropriate farming technologies.

She also believes that to modernize agriculture, farmers should have access to farm machinery and infrastructure. That is why she is working hard to avail a farm tractor and to put up a water/irrigation project towards more efficient and productive farming.

Her piece of advice to farmers is, “connect with government entities, form associations, and join training activities.  You need to know the type of crop suited to your area. You need to know about the proper application of fertilizers and the use of inputs.  You need to know about production cost to know whether you’re gaining or losing. So, there’s a lot you need to know.”

Shiela admits that when she was still a beginner, farming wasn’t that easy. She met a lot of struggles and failures. But she learned from those adversities and rose above them. Her story is like the old adage that says: Diamonds are shaped under extreme pressure and pearls are formed from constant irritation.

For Shiela, there can be a positive outcome out of a negative situation if one works hard for it.