On the 28th of February, I (Analyn) and my colleague Phadelyn set off for Tanjay, one of the six cities of the province of Negros Oriental. It was a total journey of three hours by bus followed by a 30-minute ride on motorbikes, mostly uphill. Our destination was the home of Helma Belonghilot, one of our field workers. On arrival we were awed by the number of people waiting for us. I later learnt that there were 26 loan applicants, of whom three were applicants for re-loans while the rest were new applicants. An orientation was conducted and interviews followed. Among the new applicants were four farmers whom I decided to group together as they all cultivate sugarcane and have the same areas of land. They will call themselves the “Tanjay Farmers” and they will each receive 25,000 pesos from the group loan.

 

Toribia Alquisola (58), the oldest member of the group, is a native of the town. She and her husband Miguel (60) have two sons, Glen (18) and John Cris (16), who are in Grade 11 and Grade 9 respectively. Toribia earns a living from making cassava cakes which she peddles in her neighbourhood. She makes a net income of 4,000 pesos ($70) a month. As for Miguel, he is a sugarcane farm laborer also earning 4,000 pesos a month.

 

The only man in the Tanjay farmers’ group is 26 year old Aldren Villarta; he works as a construction and farm labourer. He is married to Maria (20) and they have a one year old daughter Alme Rose. The family live in a one-roomed bamboo-made house. They do not have electricity but they have a solar-powered bulb to give them light at night. Last year, both Aldren and Maria inherited pieces of land from their parents with an area of 1.5 hectares. However the land lay idle last year, as they did not have the finances to cultivate it. This year, the couple would like to plant sugarcane and Aldren has already gathered enough sugarcane starter points in exchange for working in other farms during harvests.

 

The other two members of the group are Sofronia Candelario (48) and Mary Rochie Besario (33). The two of them both had the same painful experience of growing up without their parents. Sofronia stayed with an aunt whereas Mary Rochie grew up in her grandparents’ care. Neither finished elementary school due to poverty.

 

The Tanjay farmers are planning to use their PSHF loan to buy 15 sacks of fertiliser each for application to their respective crops of sugarcane. In the past, they have obtained fertiliser on credit from the Bayawan Central Mill and paid for it after the harvest. They ended up paying 2,700 pesos per sack whereas now, thanks to the loan they will be able to pay in cash at a cost of 1,700 pesos per sack. There will be two applications of fertiliser - in May and in August.

 

After deducting their farming expenses and their loan payback, the Tanjay farmers are hoping to make a net income of 70,000 pesos ($1,250) from their next sugarcane harvest which will be in ten months’ time. This income will be very significant for all the families as it will enable them to set aside some funds for the next cropping, emergencies or to make repairs to their homes. We wish the Tanjay farmers every success with their sugarcane cultivation.

 

Analyn T. Gallibot

PSHF Negros Oriental

April 2024