In the last three weeks heavy rain has lashed the whole province, followed by extensive flooding in most ricefields and farms planted to various crops.

In mid-June when monsoon rains started to drench the parched farmlands the farmers were exceedingly happy — they could start land preparation earlier. Those with water pumps expected an early harvest in August.

They complain against the high cost of fertilizer and other chemicals to kill pests and weeds. In the past weeds were pulled by weeders paid daily, when wage was reasonably low. Human weeders are now beyond the reach of farmers owning three to six hectares.

My sidewalk café barkada started analyzing production cost after three weeks of downpour. Rice farms about to be harvested in 10 to 15 days are still under water. In farms where maturing rice could not be harvested rice grains are seen with small buds and cluster of new leaves. Ricefields affected by this condition can return total loss.

One elementary school in this capital town was renamed in honor of my late father, Canuto B. Pefianco Sr., upon recommendation of the barangay council and Punong Barangay Genaro Encarnacion. The recommendation was adopted by the municipal officials headed by Mayor Nanding Corvera, Vice-Mayor J. T. Gabin and the municipal council.

The local officials appropriated R1.8 M for the construction of three big classrooms for the science and computer laboratory, where schoolchildren can study 21st century science with the help of modern equipment and instruments (worth R2 M donated by the Department of Science and Technology.) The laboratory, with all its benefits to young minds, is the first to be extended to a public elementary school in the province.

Canuto B. Pefianco Sr. was a public school teacher/educator whose career covered two periods in our history — US colonial era in 1916 up to the Commonwealth Government in 1937. He was first appointed to teach in 1916 by Schools Division Superintendent George William Satterthwaite of Iowa, one of 600 Thomasites who arrived in PI in 1901.

Let’s go back to rice farming. Traders in the province get the first tender — R400 per sack of unhusked rice. This translates to R800 per 50-kg bag of milled rice. The harvest gives farmers about the same amount as the cost of production — another clear loss.

Traders roam the countryside, buy unhusked rice and sell milled rice from R1,050 to R1,200 or a clean profit of R250 to R400 per bag.

If government is competing with traders to give our farmers some kind of profit margin the people in the farms don’t feel the presence of NFA or any government protection to smalltime farmers.

Fish traders likewise make a killing if they see abundance of fish landed near villages marked by tradition and experience as fishports. Traders buy cash and dictate their terms to the hungry and tired fishermen.

If torrential rains continue to fall according to forecast, farmers anywhere in RP will lose their shirts to traders. The ever-present financiers of fishing expeditions, the 5/6 bankers, will increase their tribe and harvest loan-shark profit.

This arrangement inevitably promotes the cycle of poverty among farmers and fishermen.

Even irrigation canals cannot hold or contain extra rainwater that spills into low-lying farmlands and drowns crops.

RP is not rich enough to provide a bigger canal that would direct floodwater to the bays, big lakes and the open sea and save farms and highways from destruction.

Ricefields ready for harvest can be flattened by flood in a matter of seconds and cause total loss to the farmers. (Comments are welcome at rvp@fastmail.ph.inter.net)