Impressed by the initiative of a young tribal farmer in Miarayon, Talakag in building a small water impounding in his farm using bare hands, I promised to lend his association a small old backhoe from my farm to build roads and small dams.
When I visited Miarayon Thursday last week, tribal farmer leader Ryan Danio sought my help in building small roads leading to vegetable production areas where products are brought to the roadside on horseback.
“Dako among lugi kay mabun-og ang gulay,” he told me. (We suffer losses because the vegetables are damaged.)
Since Talakag Mayor Vergito Factura was with us when Danio, a native Talaandig who is an agronomist and leader of the Miarayon Highland Farmers Association, brought up.his problem, we came up with an instant solution.
“Kung maghulat ta pondo gikan sa gobyerno, dugay pa,” I told them (If we wait for government funds, that will take a long time.)
I volunteered to lend my old mini-backhoe for free, Mayor Factura agreed to provide fuel while Danio’s group will shoulder the backhoe operator’s daily wage and maintenance expenses.
This old Komatsu mini-backhoe, Model 19-Kalawang, actually came from my brother, Eften and is being used as a utility equipment in my farm to dig canals and level the ground.
Although it is small and old, it could be used in digging the ground for water impounding and building small roads because it also has a rear blade to level the ground.
I told Danio he and fellow farmers could use the backhoe to build road networks and small impoundings for as long as they need it.
Tomorrow, the old backhoe will be loaded on my Isuzu Elf to take a 5-hour trip to Miarayon, Talakag.
It is my hope that the old backhoe would help change the lives of the tribal farmers for the better.
(Photos show my mini-backhoe ready for dispatch to Miarayon,Talakag.)
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