For Eduardo Policarpio, a farmer from Nueva Ecija, rice farming is his family’s lifeblood. As Nueva Ecija is known as the rice granary of Philippines because it is the top producer of rice in the country, Policarpio is one of the rice farmers contributing to this feat.
An average Filipino consumes at least three cups of rice per day with one for every meal if there are three meals per day. With this, majority of our farmers produce rice to meet the demands of our growing population.
Humble beginnings
Eduardo, known as Ed for his family and friends, started working as an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) in the Middle East where he met his wife, Rosela. When they started building a family, they wanted to stay in the Philippines for good so that they can spend their time together. With this, they eventually ventured into farming in Cabanatuan City in Nueva Ecija to make ends meet.
Even though Ed was an agriculture graduate from Central Luzon State University, he recalled that when he started venturing into farming, it was not easy. He had to think of ways on how to sustain the needs of his growing family. He had to borrow money or file for a loan just to buy the farm inputs. He said that back then, life was hard.
His main goal is for his family to become food sufficient as well as the whole region. “Ang battle cry ko palagi ay food sufficiency sa family at sa buong rehiyon kaya ako nagsasaka,” he added.
He started with rice farming and also, he ventured into taking care of livestock. Slowly, he tried to think of a way to make their lives easier, not just for him but for the fellow farmers in the community.
Establishing the cooperative
With his heart set on rice farming and helping others, one of his greatest accomplishments that he shared is the establishment of the Makabagong Magsasaka Multipurpose Cooperative in 2004. He first served as Chairman for the group then he became the General Manager after 10 years. From 20 members, their group rose to 81 members covering all of Nueva Ecija.
As the pioneer of the cooperative, Policarpio disclosed that he has tried borrowing money to buy farming inputs when he started farming. Thus, he pushed to establish the cooperative to help the farmers in their community. Now, their cooperative provides seeds, fertilizer and other inputs for the members when the planting season comes.
A member of the cooperative, Juanito Dres, confirmed that the creation of the cooperative immensely helped the members. “Malaking tulong itong kooperatiba sa pangunguna ni Eduardo Policarpio. Dito na kami nanghihiram ng farm inputs kapag taniman. Hindi na kami masyadong nahihirapan kumpara noong bago palang ako sa pagsasaka,” quipped Dres.
Dres further shared that Policarpio also discusses to them the latest agricultural technologies, as well as the fundamentals of rice production for them to become successful in the field. Being a member of the cooperative greatly helped him with his rice farming especially his yield.
As a Magsasaka Siyentista and Local Farmer Technician
As a Magsasaka Siyentista and Local Farmer Technician, Policarpio dedicated his farm, known as ER Policarpio Farm, to new farming technologies as it is usually used as a demonstration site to test out the said technologies.
He tills almost three (3) hectares of productive land dedicated to mainly rice, vegetables, fruit-bearing trees, and livestock.
Policarpio is often fascinated with the new farming technologies especially on rice thus he goes out of his way to try and test it in his farm. As a result of the experiments, he tries to tweak them based on his experience as well as which path would produce more yield. With this, he will know what will work on his crops and he will eventually share it with his fellow farmers.
The rice farmer also shared that he got the knowledge on the different farming technologies from the training activities offered by Agricultural Training Institute (ATI). In fact, his farm become certified as Learning Site for Agriculture (LSA) in 2018. His farm is also Good Agricultural Practices (GAP)-certified.
You reap what you sow
Policarpio also quipped that with the help of farming, especially growing rice, he has successfully sent his children to school. All of his children finished college with the following fields: Accountancy, Medical Doctor, and Agricultural Engineer.
With his accomplishments, he garnered several awards throughout the years. Among these are 2010 Gawad Saka Provincial Award, Outstanding Rice Farmer of Cabanatuan City, Natatanging Magsasaka ng Dekada, Butil Award as Outstanding Hybrid Rice Farmer, Outstanding Magsasaka Siyentista Award, etc.
It is not lost in Policarpio the importance of farmers in community thus he continues to pursue his passion to help other farmers and think of ways on how to improve farming technologies. “Ang kahalagahan ng isang magsasaka ay ikaw ang tagapagpakain ng pamilya mo,” Policarpio uttered.
Policarpio’s farm is open to those who want to learn the different farming technologies especially on rice. It is also open to the youth who would want to be immersed in arts or painting related to agriculture as his daughter, Desiree, organizes these events.
He yearns that his children will take on his path in agriculture since he owes his life’s successes to it. He said that he is there one step at a time.
When asked if he would’ve wanted to pursue a different path, he answered no. “Mas pipiliin ko paring maging magsasaka. Gusto kong makatulong sa aking pamilya at sa mga kapwa ko magsasaka dito sa lugar namin. Kung walang magsasaka, walang kakainin ang sambayanan,” he added.
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