the learning journey

One of the highlights of the Enhancing Global Rice Research Leadership course was the "learning journey" to a rice farming community in Jala-jala, Rizal which we did on August 20, a Saturday.

The aim of the trip was to help us gain insights about the context of the farmer -- the environment, the community, the political and social structures, his/her values and beliefs, behavioral patterns -- things that could help us, the future drivers of rice research, to figure out solutions to barriers to development. We were encouraged to look at these factors as part of a whole ecology and not just in a cause-and-effect simplistic point of view.

In other words, we were instructed to go the farmers' fields as people going to the farm for the first time; not as scientists who had done a lot of farmers' surveys prior to this trip. We were outsiders, looking into the culture... and being in it, if we could.

Outsiders looking in.

In preparation for the journey, one of our teachers, Julie Arts, encouraged everyone to think of questions that would engage farmers into a dialogue with us. We had to avoid technical questions as much as possible; these questions that pertain to the details behind the way they conduct farming: the varieties on the field, the type of ecosystem, the nutrition management, etc. Aside from the interviews, we also had to observe the farmers' environment. We could take photos, wade into the fields, walk along the roads... but we were doing these as researchers, not as tourists.

The town of Jala-jala is along the shores of Laguna de Bay.

On the day itself, I went with Rosemary and we talked with Editha Delfin, one of the women working in the field at that time. Her story was very rich in history and I had a glimpse of Jala-jala's past from the eyes of this farmer.

Her surroundings were so serene, there were no tall buildings across the landscape, very few vehicles were traversing the concrete road, and the air felt really clean. On top of a hill, one had a clear view of Laguna de Bay. The contrast between the green fields and the sparkling lake was so beautiful. The community had an air of being lost in time. No wonder Jala-jala is called the paradise of Rizal.

Being in the midst of all these made me forget how close we actually were to the chaotic world of Metro Manila.

As the interview and the observation periods came to a close, I learned several things...

Out of the list of questions, we only were able to ask the first one. This, to me, meant that we could prepare a whole lot for a project but there are times when we just leave what we've prepared at the back our heads (as contingency plans) and we go with the flow. The path that our conversation went to was a "Surprise Me" moment: I had no idea what kind of information we'd get from Aling Editha.

My assumptions about farmers were either confirmed or corrected. Spending summer vacations with some of them (those who worked on sugarcane and coffee) had contributed to my farmer stereotypes. In this case though, Aling Editha was in charge of her family's property AND she helped organise farmers in their fight to claim their land. Also, I always thought that those who tilled the land would have graduated from high school at best; however, Aling Editha has a degree in Secretarial Science. One of my assumptions was correct: it was very clear how attached people are with their farms. During the interview, I was reminded of the character Wang Lung in "The Good Earth" (by Pearl S. Buck). Like Wang Lung, Aling Editha is unwilling to sell the family property (after fighting so hard to get it) and is disappointed with the transfer of land ownership to new players. She also prefers to stay in the farm rather than transfer to an urban area; to her, just work hard with the land and you'd be fed.

English is a good medium of communication in the Philippines but to get the richest stories, one has to understand the local vernacular. When Aling Editha began talking, she was conversing with us in English. But as her story unfolded, she found that her second language wasn't colourful enough to get her point across. That's when she shifted to Tagalog (in the dialect being used in Morong). Rosemary was completely lost and I had to give her periodic summaries as it was also hard to interrupt and translate at the most gripping parts of Aling Editha's story.

Going outside the laboratory and getting a feel of what it's like to live in the midst of farmers was certainly an enriching experience for me. Putting a face to what is commonly termed as "stakeholders" during meetings certainly gives us, the trainees, some perspective about the research that we're doing. The decisions we make in the comforts of the laboratory should be bright, colourful spots in the big picture.

After all, at its core, the work we do is for the benefit of rice farmers and consumers.