Farmers and Fishers Week 2021: A Tribute to the Farmers and Fisherfolk

Over the course of the pandemic, farmers and fishermen have always ensured providing us with the food that we eat on a daily basis. The agricultural sector is the backbone of our society for ensuring that we have a steady food supply, but agricultural workers in the Philippines remain among the most disadvantaged groups in our society. Farmers and fishermen have been displaying their resiliency by facing typhoons, droughts and global crises such as the coronavirus and the African swine fever, yet despite all of that some Filipinos still disregard the importance of farmers and fisherfolk in our lives.

In order to appreciate the agricultural sector in the Philippines, the Department of Agriculture declared on May 21, 1989 that the month of May would be known and celebrated nationwide as The Farmers and Fisherfolk Month. In doing so, local governments organize events to help put the spotlight on our fellow Filipinos who are part of the agricultural sector.

According to Maria Edna B. Bongalonta, the department head of the City Agriculture Office of Naga, this event is held annually since 2012 and is usually held in the first week of May - but circumstances concerning the number of COVID-19 cases in Naga forced the City Agriculture Office to move the event to the third week instead.

For the whole 3 days of the event, Bongalonta said that the reception from the public was positive, and the participants were also very enthusiastic about it.

“Last year kasi wala talaga kasi nationwide lockdown yun. Ngayon enthusiastic talaga yung mga farmer and fisherfolk about it, kahit simple lang ang event ngayon okay na sila.” she added.

Events like these are good for farmers, but that doesn’t mean that it is enough to help them out during these trying times. The local government offers other forms of assistance by allowing these farmers and fisherfolk to loan inputs from them without interest and also letting them use processing facilities, but that is still not enough as there are many limits when it comes to the budgets provided to local governments.

The Filipino agricultural worker is still unfairly struggling, despite giving the Filipino citizen so much. This event helps us to realize that we should not only appreciate them, but we should also take any action that we can to help them get the life that they truly deserve.