Leyte lady farmer is 2nd most outstanding farmer of PHL in 2012

By Philippine Information Agency (PIA 8)
February 19, 2013

PALO, Leyte – The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations say that “If women farmers have same access to tools and opportunities as men, they will produce more food for their families, and the world.”

This was proven true by Lady Farmer Ditas dela Peña of Barangay Anahaway, Palo, Leyte who was recently awarded as the second Outstanding Farmer of the Philippines (TOFARM) in 2012 besting 111 other farmers from the different parts of the country.

All these years, Ditas, 52 years old who is also a village chief, has fused hard work and innovative ideas to respond to her family circumstances and shifts in consumer demand and market conditions.

She received a silver plaque and P25,000 for her achievement last January 24 at the Raffles Hotel in Makati City from the TOFARM, a search undertaken by the Junior Chamber International Philippines (JCIP) in cooperation with Universal Harvester, Inc. to recognize the resilience, ingenuity, and strength of the Filipino farmers as backbones of the society.

For Barangay Chairperson Ditas, “Being one of the finalists was already a great honor for me considering the number of exceptional farmers we have in the country.”

She expressed her gratitude to the Tacloban Jaycees through President Onie Balintong, the Leyte Provincial Agriculture Office through provincial agriculturist Rogelio Portula and the Municipal Government of Palo through Mayor Matin Petilla.

“Without their support, I would not be able to join the national search,” she said.

Ditas was recognized for her efforts in preserving the bio-diversity through recycling farm and animal wastes into usable organic fertilizers, adoption of integrated farming system which provides good income and opportunities for expansion and replication, quality and market-driven farm products, benefit to community where neighbors earn their keep by working in her farm and impact to the agriculture sector which has inspired other farmers to join the farming industry.

She personally manages her 24-hectare farm grown and planted with rice, high value vegetables and fruit crops ranging from lettuce, pechay, eggplant, cucumber, kangkong, ampalaya, sweet and hot pepper, beans, alugbati, sweet corn, watermelon, rootcrops, sweet corn, papaya, among others.

Moreover, fruit trees such as jackfruit, pomelo, passion fruit, bananas, rambutan, calamansi, guyabano, coconut, red lady papaya and many others occupy a large portion of her farm with a nursery for asexually propagated plants.

Aside from these, she also tends to her poultry farm where she is a contract grower of the Genesis Broiler Chicken Farms, Inc, goat and swine production projects as well as her soon-to-be finished fishpond.

For Ditas, farming activities starting at 3:00 o’clock in the morning till night time occupy much of her time 24/7.

Her valuable insights and contributions within and outside her community are manifested by her numerous awards and recognitions received.

Her latest achievement included being the Valedictorian of the University on the Air High Value Crops Production, 2012 UGMAD award as Outstanding Farmer-Entrepreneur and Most Outstanding Irrigators Association as she is president of the Irrigators Association in her town.

Ditas is among the women farmers who are half of all farmers in the developing world; women farmers who can grow 30% more food if they have access to the same resources as men.