Addrianne S.

Andales
Jonh Romar Dijan
Junyll Keith Sumpia

Kara David's I-heartbreaking Witness's documentary "Minsan Sa Isang Taon"

subversively delineates a life irony. Tusan Tango, a small abaca farmer in Sitio Banli,
Malapatan, Sarangani Province, is the documentary's protagonist; his story illustrates how
impoverished and out of life support they are. The documentary portrayed an abaca farmer in a
remote area as he went about his daily tasks. It illuminated his family's various economic
difficulties, health issues, and daily struggles to live a normal life amid undeniable
entanglements.
We learned about the deprivation that existed in their region as we completed watching a
documentary, and how they persevered in their efforts to ride out reality's thorns. The only thing
keeping them sticking to the needle is their livelihood. Even if they exude blood, sweat, and tears
in the process of scraping by, there would never be a balance between their efforts and their
earnings. We have seen that the issue in that environment is a lack of attention, facilities,
transportation, and well-paying jobs for farmers. And the fact that they have been farmers since
then means that it's now their life that we cannot take away. What we are trying to get across is
that if we help farmers get more help, it will have a domino effect on their revenue, food intake,
and livelihood.
It is indeed heartbreaking to note that this reflects the harsh reality that most farmers face:
they employ others to make money, but they are the ones who lack it. That is why we decided to
contribute some brilliant ideas to help with this issue. We envision providing long-term
livelihood programs for abaca farmers in that region and other neighboring areas, empowering
them, and reviving the abaca industry by increasing production and remuneration. We want to
incorporate the "ABAKA-akbay PROJECT" with the support of Region 12 and in coordination
with the Capitol of Sarangani, LGUs, and farmer's organizations. We intend to seek funding
from a variety of sources, including the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) and the National
Agriculture and Fisheries Council (NAFC). ABAKA-akbay (Abaka+akbay) or (Abaca+ Aid or
Support) aspires to extend or lend our arms to give abaca farmers utmost importance and
increase their productivity through the implementation of integrated farming systems (IFS) and
value-adding activities. The project aims to strengthen the potential of abaca farmers and assist
them in providing farming equipment and necessities. This project also has two components:
strengthening the subsistence by proper funding allocation and directly purchasing crops from
the farmers with proper compensation. We also want to help them supplement their income by
growing cash crops like vegetables and raising livestock. Finally, provide quick access
transportation to the market for delivering abaca, such as motorcycles and other cars.
Our society's foundation is made up of farmers. They are the ones that supply us with all
of the food we consume as well as the products we use. As a result, our entire country's
population is reliant on them. They are the most powerful people on the planet, but they are still
unable to live comfortably. They have a tough life because they do not have enough money to
pay their bills and have nothing in their hands. In the case of this ABACA farmer from
Malapatan Sarangani province, their condition has deteriorated to the point that they are unable
to eat enough food, and as we can imagine, they can only eat rice once or twice a year,
depending on the amount of Abaca they can sell. And the solution is already spoon-feeding, we
only need to move.
As a result, our group agreed to propose the "ABACA-akbay" initiative, which is reliant
on our collaboration with the government and other organizations because farmers like Tusan
Tango are in dire need of help and deserve more.