From the main market of the town of Libmanan, it will take about 30 minutes of boat riding along the river in order to reach the island of Barangay Malbogon. The whole island is the barangay. The residents’ main livelihood in that area is agriculture. Their rice plantations were located at the center of the island because that was the land area high tide doesn’t reach.

Malbogon used to face several problems regarding agriculture. First was their location and how they were flooded during high tides and storms; second was how the traders were taking advantage of their situation during wet season when most of their rice were damaged because of the rain; third was how they were supposed to dry their rice during wet seasons; fourth was the high price of binhi or the rice seedlings for planting; and fifth was the fact that their practice of organic farming has not paid off.

In order to address this problem, Fr. Granwell Pitapit, the Executive Director of Caritas Diocese of Libmanan (CDL) in partnership with the Department of Agriculture – Regional Field Unit No. 5 (DA-RFU 5), the Local Government Unit of Libmanan (LGU-Libmanan), and the SKK Organic Farmers Association-Libmanan Chapter (SKK-OFA), spearheaded the Rice Processing Complex (RPC) program. They made SKK-OFA their main beneficiary and the barangay of Malbogon one of its members so they reap many benefits from the project.

CDL has been conducting seminars and trainings for 180 farmers regarding organic farming, integrated farming, and micro-finance. They even taught the farmers how to make binhi and how to store rice properly for a longer storage capacity. They also provided markets for the farmers’ organic products. With the help of RPC and the Department of Agriculture, the farmers of Malbogon has been given tractor, thresher, and dryer so that they could dry their own rice – there’s no need to sell their rice at a very low price. In fact, RPC is giving the farmers an opportunity to gain larger profit by buying their rice at the right amount. RPC is also helping not only the farmers but also the whole community by selling the milled rice at just the right price.

The farmers in Malbogon are well-aware of the significance of their organic products for human health. Mr. Teresito Arcilla, a 53 year old farmer of Malbogon, said, “Nakita namin na ‘yung organic farming ay talagang less ‘yung gastos tapos nakakatulong pa sa environment.” (We saw that organic farming costs less and is really good for the environment.) Mr. Manuel Luzentales, 56 year old farmer of Malbogon, added, “…kasi ‘yung nasa kapaligiran mo pagpapahalagahaan mo talaga. Walang nasasayang dahil wala kang susunugin, lahat ng matatapon may pakinabang. Lalong-lalo na sa health.” (…because you will really appreciate everything around you. There are no wastes because you do not need to burn anything, and everything is valuable. Especially in terms of health.)

The farmers in Malbogon are very thankful to the program but admitted that they also have had doubts. They are afraid that some big businessmen will intrude with the program and might remove the rights of small-time farmers like them who were the pioneers of the program. Mr. Arcilla said, “Yan po ang takot namin. Baka ang dating mga mayayaman lalong yayaman nang dahil sa RPC na ‘yan.” (That is our fear. Maybe with RPC, the rich will become richer.) But the RPC assured the farmers that the scenario won’t happen because the system ensures balance among all beneficiaries.

Doubts are inevitable in every program but the fact that Barangay Malbogon’s residents are all Catholics made it easier for the people to put their trust with CDL’s programs. CDL’s advocacy is to be the steward of God’s creation. Through RPC, CDL is helping the farmers not only in terms of raising their profits but also in regaining their self-respect and love for their work. Because of RPC, the failing heart of Malbogon is once again beating with hope and is starting to thrive in the hands of its farmers.

“Sa ngayon yan ang mas maganda na. Nandito na ang RPC, ang bentahan ng palay ay maganda talaga. Iyan ang nasagot sa problema namin. Pag dating ng RPC.” (Everything is better now. The RPC is here now, the market of rice is really good. That is the solution in our problem. When RPC came.) – Mr. Manuel Luzentales and Teresito Arcilla

Angelica Caliwan graduated with a BA Communication Arts degree from UP Los Baños. She wants to serve by volunteering more in social development works. The people of Libmanan, Camarines Sur have a special place in her heart.