Farming is our everyday life. On our farm, we grow rice, coconut and sugarcane. These three crops are where we get food and income. Farming is not easy, but it is what we know and what keeps our family going.
Rice is the most important crop for us because it’s what we eat every day. The work starts by cleaning and plowing the soil. We level it so water can flow properly. After that we plant the rice seedlings.
While the rice grows, we check the water level in the field. Too little water, the rice will dry. Too much, it might rot. We also put fertilizer so the plants grow strong and give more grains. Spraying is also part of it to stop worms and pests from eating the leaves.
Rice takes about three to four months before harvest. Harvest time is the most tiring but also the happiest because we see the result of our work.
The coconut trees in our farm were planted by my father-in-law years ago. Now, we are the ones taking care of them and getting the benefit. Monthly, we make copras we dry the coconut meat and sell it. This is one of our regular incomes.
Coconut is very useful. We drink the buko juice for snacks, use the wood for cooking and even make brooms from the leaves and stems. Nothing goes to waste.
Sugarcane is what my husband likes to focus on It takes about 9 months before we can harvest. So it’s a long wait. The good part is after harvest, you don’t need to plant again right away because the sugarcane grows back up to three times from the same roots. This saves Money and work. The price of sugarcane is also higher compared to other crops, so it helps us a lot.
Farming is not just plant and wait. Every day we prepare and clean the soil, watch the water level especially the rice, we put fertilizer and spray when needed, Check plants daily for pests and damage.
We also has problems we can't control, the weather condition sometimes too much rain or no rain at all can damage our crops, Pests sometimes they still come even if we spray and the market price, the price of rice, coconut and sugarcane can drop anytime.
Farming is hard. There are days my husband gets tired, sometimes worried if the harvest will be enough. But we have no choice but to keep planting and going. Farming what feeds us and pays for our needs. When harvest finally comes, all the hard work feels worth it.
These three crops, the rice, coconut and sugarcane – are what keep us moving every day. Farming may not be instant money, but it teaches us to be patient, and to be thankful for every blessing. This is my owned picture, edited in Canva.
Thank you for reading my story and for appreciating the work farmers do to put food on the table. Have a nice day! 😍