“Magtanim ay di biro.Maghapong nakayuko.Di manlang makatayo. Di manlang makaupo…”
This familiar song comes to mind whenever we see farmers in the field, under the heat of the sun, working their lands. We can say with no doubt that farming is not easy. It requires diligence and a lot of hard work. Farming rice fields in the lowlands is toilsome. But farming rice fields in the mountains? Now that’s just crazy. Or is it?
Thousands of years ago, our ancestors living in Ifugao created the rice terraces. They formed the mountainsides into stairs, planting rice on the ‘steps’. Hence, the Banaue rice terraces became famous due to its unique beauty. It even belonged once upon a time to the Seven Wonders of the World. And now rice terraces are not only found in Banaue, Ifugao. Other municipalities such as Battad and Mayoyao also boast of their rice fields in the mountains.
Beauty always comes with a price, and so it is with the famous rice terraces. Farming on the plains is already difficult. Bring it to the mountains and it would be even more difficult. Think of how the farmers would prepare the soil. Since they could not bring carabaos and plows to the terraces, they will have to till the soil manually. They would also have to remove the snails from the soil. They would also need to clean out the weeds and moss that has grown on the riprap they made on the sides of the terraces. This is a necessary step all throughout the planting season since rats could be hiding in the small holes. Come harvest time, they will also have to do it manually, since they will not be able to use machines to help them. All the time, they will have to go up and down the mountains to work their terraces, at times carrying either a sack of chicken and/or pig manure or bundles and bundles of harvest.
The sad part is, despite all the hard work they have to go through, the rice grains harvested from their terraces is still not enough to feed one family for the whole year. They will have to own the whole mountain to feed their whole family and have some extra to sell. Community folk will eventually have to buy rice for their consumption as well.
Aside from the usual threat of drought, farmers in the mountains face additional risks. Storms bringing heavy rains could cause landslides, destroying not only one, but many rice terraces. And it takes a lot of effort and manpower to build them up again. Another threat is the number of terrace farmers. Most of them are middle-aged to old age. The young ones are no longer bent on farming the terraces. Some of them prefer less laborious work while others become ‘educated’, pulling them away from ‘mere farm work’. That is why some farmers fear the day when there are no more successors to their rice terraces. Who would maintain the fields then?
Most of us are oblivious to these hardships behind the glorious rice terraces. Tourists come and appreciate the beauty of the rice terraces. They take pictures. They marvel at their pictures. They bring them home, go back to their routine and move on. More than appreciating the beauty of the terraces, we would also like to appreciate how these terraces were made, and how they are maintained. It takes determination, perseverance and a whole lot of love for the farmers to keep farming their rice terraces.
Now, who says you can’t farm rice fields in the mountains?
By: Erwin Shim D. Fonite
