“Hindi hadlang ang pagiging person with disability para gawin ang gusto mong gawin.” Indeed, it takes strong faith to God to be where she is now.
Cliché as it may sound – but this is the real-life story of Baby Angeline, also called as Maan for others.
Baby Angeline, grew up in a farming community in Aguinaldo, Ifugao. Despite the fact the she belongs to family of farmers- her engagement to do farming activities was in a way delimited by her own family members. It is because of their fear that doing much farming activities would bring her more harm. Accordingly, Baby Angeline was born physically normal. However, she met accidents like she felt down to the ground several times– that harmed her right leg and affected the way she walks. Despite that, she embraced her physically limitation.
After finishing her studies, she served as a radio operator at the Ambuklao Hydro-electric Plant-National Power Corporation (AHEP-NPC) in Bokod, Benguet from 1989 to 2003. She met her husband, Uncle Ino, got married and started a family with their son Joshua. Together, they lived in the housing provided by the Agency and seldomly go home to Aguinaldo, Ifugao. Further, she did not limit herself to being a radio operator but she performed administrative-related tasks as well that made her a gem in the said agency. Working with the Agency trained her to do much paper works and knowledge and skills in transacting government-related projects and activities.
After 14 years of working with the AHEP-NPC, Baby Angeline needed to go home to her hometown- to personally oversee their land holdings-for rice and corn production. Admittedly, she was not involved with farming-related activities as she is used to do backyard (pot) gardening since their housing in Ambuklao does not have wide area. “I needed to go home to manage the land left by our parents- not just for me but also to my sibling’s family’s members because I am the only surviving member of my family”. Both her parents and two brothers are already dead leaving her to take care of her nieces and nephews and the properties as well. Using her separation pay from AHEP-NPC, she started developing the farms.
Deciding to till and develop their farms, Baby Angeline started to establish a good relationship with the community and the LGU especially the Office of the Municipal Agriculturist of Aguinaldo, Ifugao. Showing the strong will to help the farming community, and the experiences to deal with the government procedures guidelines and process, she was elected as the president of the irrigators association (IA) in the area. Until now, the IA members put their trust and confidence to her to lead the association. With her able leadership, and the strong support of the LGU and the members of the association, the IA was able to avail some projects and grants like farm machineries, farming inputs, trainings and seminars among others from various agencies.
As a leader, Baby Angeline is also a mediator, negotiator, a link because at times problems arise between and among the members, that she is needed to be there to sort things out. When difficulties would come in transacting with the partner agencies, she would be there to patiently complete the needed requirements and processes, personally following-up the documents so long as the requests and project proposals of the association would be granted them. With the dedication she exemplifies to preserve the integrity and unity within the association she leads, no wonder she gained the confident of the members and is still their leader until now.
Baby Angeline is so much grateful for she was sent to attend a training for PWDs on farm mechanization by the Villar’s Social Institute of Poverty Alleviation and Governance (SIPAG) Foundation. The training aimed to showcase person with disability (PWD) and women-friendly farming. With no reservation, Baby Angeline welcomed the chance and gladly attended and finished the course. Accordingly, the SIPAG staff were there to assist her and other participants to complete the course. That as well established more her networks and linkages especially with other farmers assisted by the SIPAG Foundation where they continually share their farming activities. Since then, other training opportunities followed. She completed the trainings conducted by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) namely: Trainers Methodology Certificate I; National Certificate (NC) II in Agripreneurship; and NC II in Organic Agriculture Production II in 2019. The following year, she finished NC IV in Agripreneurship. These gave her confidence to accept the call for her to become a learning site for agriculture (LSA) under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement (RCEF) by the DA-ATI-RTC-CAR in 2021.
Certified as LSA, she was then invited to attend for more trainings. In 2021, together with her husband, they completed the Training of Trainers’ (ToT) on High-Quality Inbred Rice and Seeds and Farm Mechanization. After which, she finished the RCEF- ToT on Pest and Nutrient Management facilitated by the Philippine Rice Institute (Phil Rice). As part of being a RCEF- LSA and Farm School, Baby Angeline made sure that the trainers employed in her farm school are also capacitated. And to start with, all her four trainers completed the training on High-Quality Inbred Rice and Seeds and Farm Mechanization implemented by DA-ATI-CAR. These trainings gave their skills and knowledge on farming and boost their confidence to share what they have learned to other farmers in their area.
Baby Angeline recalled that it was during one of the trainings she attended with the SIPAG Foundation that the concept of LSA was introduced to her. When the DA-ATI-ATI-CAR was looking for possible farmers to become LSA as partners in the RCEF-identified areas, Baby Angeline took the chance. It was her dream to help improve increase the awareness of the community to apply better farming technologies as she too was given the opportunity to gain knowledge and skills from the trainings she attended.
With little knowhow on how to start with the farm school alone, she bravely took the opportunity to become a DA-ATI LSA and TESDA farms school, which she named Baby Angeline Integrated Farm. With the help of the RCEF program implementing agencies and the fellow trainers, the farm school is slowly learning the mechanics and dynamics of its operation.
Her husband is still working with the NPC- (now National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) at that time the farm school started its activities. And to her joy, at present, her husband and son, Joshua fully accepted the challenge to finally join her in managing the farm. After the certification as LSA, she was given slot by TESDA to implement RCEF-related activities. Further, an opportunity to implement the Farmers Field School (FFS) on Production of High-Quality Inbred Rice and Seed Certification and Farm Mechanization was given to the farm school to train 75 individuals.
Baby Angeline sees the changes when it comes to farming practices in the area. Farmers are now embracing new farming technologies and principles like the use of farm machineries right amount and timing of fertilizer application, pest management among others.
The Baby Angeline Integrated Farm is still at its initial stage of operation, thus the farm school needed to shell out its own finances to pay for the other costs being incurred in implementing the FFS courses. These would include transportation cost to fetch the participants to and from the venue to their residence, uniform of the participants and insurance. Baby Angeline reiterates that having to pay the other expenses does not matter as long as the participants will gain knowledge and skills to increase their production. She is happy that the farm is being used to transform others’ lives.
Even if her parents and brothers are not with her to enjoy the farm activities, Baby Angeline would not ask for more with uncle Ino and Joshua with her to manage the farm school.
Baby Angeline faced many challenges and issues in her life, despite that she happily shared that it took her faith to God to overcome those. Even at this point, she knows that she will be facing many issues as she embarked on another vacation, she is still confident that she will rise above as God will be with her all the way.
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