Big Money from Small Lands
He did not even imagined reaching this level of being a farmer, says the 2014 Gawad Pitak awardee. It’s all about hard
work, he added.
43 year-old Ruben Ragas of Sanghan, Cabadbaran, Agusan del Norte received two hectares of agricultural land from the government’s land distribution program in 2006. From then, he proved that farming in the Philippines could mean big time.
“It’s about loving the land. Without DAR, I may not be able to own a land in my whole life”, said this year’s 1strunner up - Ulirang Magsasaka of the Landbank’s Gawad Pitak Awards.
Each morning, he wakes up with pride and goes to his farm with confidence, coming from his security of owning the land.
Using integrated diversified farming, Ragas planted the area with vegetables like eggplant, tomatoes, bell pepper, ampalaya and okra and fruits like papaya, banana and mangoes.
“With this alone, I am able to feed my family with healthy foods”, says the proud winner. And the rest goes to the market, he added.
Ragas is a father to five children, and husband to Fe, 39.
To maximize the small area, Ragas also made a medium-sized fishpond whom he initially grow with 10,000 fresh water fishes. “When we don’t have viand, my children can just go to the pond and catch fish, so we can have fish in our table”, Ragas revealed.
He also grew animals like goat and poultry like chicken, turkey, ducks and other fowls.
With all his perseverance, Ragas earns monthly the same as a middle manager of a government office. That without him going to office or reporting to a boss.
He proudly narrates that with this earnings, he was able to send all his children to school to provide them better education, feed them well enough and sheltered his family in a bungalow he dreamed all his life.
But he never missed to thank the Department of Agrarian Reform, who made him a more dignified farmer with the land the government program gave him. He also cited various trainings conducted by the agency to help him improve his income and his marketing skills.
“I grow up from a family of lowly farmers, but its DAR who ignites my passion to make my life even better”, says Ragas, “proving a farmer can make big money from small lands”.
