GM Crops: One farmer’s perspective

^{Rosalie Ellasus}

How does one transform from OFW to prosperous farmer? How does one return to the Philippines after a decade of working abroad to become a speaker at international conferences? 

 

For farmer Rosalie Ellasus, it was all about looking for a better life for her family.

 

Her story is familiar: a couple marries early, has children, tries to make ends meet. Soon a decision is made: someone has to work abroad. 

 

Rosalie Ellasus had a degree in Medical Technology, but couldn’t practice her profession because she was unlicensed. She joined the ranks of OFWs in 1987. Her sons were all under 10 years old. “Tag-hirap kami nun. Walang trabaho ang asawa ko. Alam mo na, madalas ang babae pupunta sa ibang bansa para magtrabaho.” 

 

She worked in Singapore and Canada, and was able to send money to her family back home. But that all changed when her husband died in 1995. Once her employment contract ended in 1998, she returned home.

 

For many OFWs, returning home brings many more challenges: lower compensation, fewer job opportunities, different industry standards. 

 

Rosalie tried her hand at a variety of jobs. “Na-try ko lahat. Nag-apply ako kung saan-saan, pati insurance. Pero hindi naman maganda yung mga offer. Bumili ako ng dalawang jeepney, pati hog-raising pinasok ko. Nahirapan ako. I’m not enjoying.”

 

Finally she ventured into farming, and purchased 1.3 hectares of agricultural land.

 

Rosalie the farmer

 

In 2001 Rosalie enrolled in an Integrated Pest Management course, offered free by the government. She saw it as an opportunity. “Naghahanap ako ng negosyo na ako ang boss, na hindi ako ordinary employee.”

 

That first year of farming was tough. “Pina-till ko muna sa pinsan ko, pero yung ROI was very little. Very tedious ito, very tiring.” She encountered so many challenges: pests, weeds, crop disease, chemical spraying, lack of storage facilities, low yield, the unpredictable climate and the high cost of land preparation.

 

She wanted to find an easier way to earn from her farmland. She heard about field trials for Bt corn, which was corn that had been genetically modified to resist the destructive fruit and shoot borer (FSB). This corn became insect-resistant with the addition of Bacillus thuringiensis or Bt, a bacteria that naturally occurs in soil, and is naturally resistant to the FSB. By then, Bt corn had been commercially available in the Philippines for over ten years. 

 

Rosalie recalled, “May field trial ng Bt corn sa Sta. Maria, Pangasinan. Dun ako nag-volunteer, kasi parang hindi mahirap magsaka. Nag-demo trial kami dito sa field ko.” That was in October 2002. The first harvest in 2003 showed her a vast difference from the traditional that had given her so much trouble in the past.

 

She said, “The difference is amazing, lalo na sa pag-spray!” She found other benefits. Less land preparation was needed. Though the seeds were expensive, the lower cost of land preparation made up the difference. She needed less labor for fertilization, and didn’t need chemical spraying for pests at all. For a significantly lower production cost, she enjoyed higher profit.

 

From that point onwards, she never looked back. “Maganda naman yung ani ko, paganda nang paganda.” She wouldn’t hesitate to try other genetically modified crops, given the opportunity. “Pati na sa palay, kung may Bt yun ang gusto ko. Sana nga kung may Bt eggplant itatanim ko rin yun.” 

 

Today, she’s still going strong. “Ngayon, nagtanim ako ng December 28, alam ko na kung kikita ako o hindi. Maliit pa lang, alam ko na. Wag lang makaaway ang nature, o kalamidad. Assured na, kampante na.” 

 

Now that her harvest is assured, she has time for other income-generating farm activities: “Pag hindi ka nakatutok sa farm mo, marami kang pwedeng gawin na iba. Kikita ka kahit wala ka na masyado ginagawa. Nakapag-cattle-raising pa ako.”

 

Rosalie says her success has encouraged other farmers to try the new crops as well. “Ang mga farmers kasi, to see is to believe. Magtatanong naman sila e. Ang farmers, titingin sila kung saan sila kikita. Kung kikita sila, gagayahin nila. Yung iba na nagtitipid [sa seeds], hindi nila alam na hindi sila nakakatipid. Ang San Jacinto, Pangasinan, first town na nag-adopt ng Bt. Halos lahat ng farmers nag-try. The others followed in the next few years. Ngayon nga puro Bt [corn] na.”

 

Because of her prosperity and her willingness to try the new crops, Rosalie has become a leader among Pangasinan farmers. In fact, she is now a municipal councillor of San Jacinto. 

 

Better life for her family 

 

The children that Rosalie worked so hard to support now reap the rewards of her labors too. Her eldest son has a degree in computer engineering. Her second son is a nursing graduate, but he chooses to works in the farm with her. “He enjoys it. Every harvest he is also there. My granddaughter comes with me to the field, too,” Rosalie says.

 

Rosalie believes that her success is due to the fact that she never stopped learning new things, and she says as much to the many OFWs who ask about the secret to her success. “On my own hindi ko naman kaya. I never stopped learning when it comes to agriculture, I learn on the Internet. When you’re into technology, marami kang pwedeng gawin. I wouldn’t say na sa Bt crops lang yung dahilan, pero nakatulong. Marami nga’ng nag-email sa akin, nagtatanong. I help all the farmers if I can. Ang aking forte naman is rice and corn, so pwede ko i-impart yung knowledge sa kanila.”

 

Rosalie returned from overseas before agencies like Philippine Overseas Employees Agency (POEA) and Overseas Workers Welfare Association (OWWA) actively helped returning Filipinos with their entrepreneurial efforts. “Hindi na ako kumuha ng tulong sa POEA or other agencies. Nung nasa Singapore ako, may konti ako’ng na-ipon, hindi ko nga alam yung mga assistance ng POEA. Ngayong may ganun na, pwede na ito sa mga mas nangangailangan.”

 

Rosalie has travelled the Philippines and the world, talking to other farmers and finding their experience similar to hers. At a workshop in Indonesia, she shared the stories of farmers in Isabela, Ifugao and Iloilo who experienced increased profit and greater yield when they switched to planting GM corn. 

 

Now she shares her experience and theirs when she speaks to NGOs, farmer cooperatives, civic clubs and research institutions. She’s spoken around the world, talking about biotechnology and crop safety. The Rosalie Ellasus you see today is certainly a far cry from the woman who left the Philippines in 1987, looking for a better life. All she had to do was plant corn. — TJD, GMA News