ROSALES, Pangasinan – Farmers in Pangasinan are planning to go back to the traditional means of plowing the fields, using carabaos or water buffaloes instead of mechanized tractors due to rising fuel prices.
But where are the carabaos?
Engineer Rosendo So, chairman and founder of the farmers’ party-list group Abono based here, told The STAR that farmers are now spending about P1,500 for fuel for a “single passing” of a mechanized tractor in a one-hectare rice field and normally, farmers do “double passing” so they spend as much as P3,000.
In addition, they also shell out an additional P400 for the fuel of a kuliglig, a multi-purpose vehicle used by farmers for seed bedding for one hectare.
This is why the use of carabaos in plowing the rice fields is again being eyed to help the 300,000 farmers of Pangasinan save on increasing fuel costs.
But So asked, “Where will we get the carabaos? They are already becoming extinct.
“They (farmers) don’t know anymore how to cope with the problem (of rising oil prices) and this (scarcity of carabaos) is giving them another headache,” he added.
No less than Urdaneta City, Pangasinan Mayor Amadeo Perez Jr. had voiced his concern about the extinction of carabaos, especially in their area.
Even in Ilagan, Isabela, the country’s top rice and corn-producing province, farmers are slowly returning to their old but still reliable farm allies.
Luckily, here they still have enough carabaos to do the work.
“This is a natural reaction of farmers to the exorbitant rise of petroleum products which in the end would cut into their profits,” said Danilo Tumamao, provincial agriculture officer.
“This will be one way for them to minimize the cost of production of rice and corn since the carabao could be of help to farmers in various ways, especially during land preparation,” he said.
Aside from the land preparation which involves plowing and harrowing, the carabao can also be utilized in hauling crops from the farm gate to the nearest market, he said.
Tumamao said the maintenance for gasoline-powered farm machines is far more costly since farmers only need grass and water for the carabao’s upkeep.
“We have no recourse but to go back to the carabao. It’s a good thing we didn’t sell our still reliable farm ally,” said Tata Osting, a farmer.
Floro Taguinod, a farm owner in Santiago City here, also welcomed the idea of returning to basic farming techniques.
“As land owners, who shoulder most of the farm outputs, this will definitely be a welcome relief to us since our burden will be lessened,” he said.
Agricultural technicians here said that aside from the economic benefits, the use of carabaos in farm activities is also environmentally friendly.
Isabela is also known for commercial carabao raising, especially in its northern towns like San Pablo, Tumauini and Cabagan. – With Charlie Lagasca