Food security of yesteryears

Smoking meats and fish has long been a way of preserving food. But did you know that even the source of the wood used in this slow method of cooking matters? I was talking to a chef who smokes pork and beef in his farm and he shared with me some tips: coffee trees which are not productive anymore are used as firewood. He  uses santol tree cuttings as well.

Another chef who smokes ribs as a specialty travels to Batangas and Quezon in search of sampalok (tamarind) tree branches. These are slow-burning wood from trees that grow without chemical sprays. This is probably the same reason they do not use mango branches as they contain toxins, due to the practice of frequent spraying of mango trees to get rid of pests.

These and other tips are stuff you may not be able to read in books, but can only learn from age-old practices of farmers.

At a recent coffee farming seminar, Doc Andy Mojica shares that in Cavite, old folks spoke about coffee tree as“mahina ang loob” or faint-hearted because it always needs a companion tree or plant. The truth is, it needs some shade while growing up until it can fend for itself from the harsh sun and unexpected strong rains. It is a good thing to remember when planting coffee. Old wives’ tales and tips from our elders are always useful, even if we still do not know the science behind it. But sooner or later, when we read books, we find out the real scientific reason behind some practices that have just been handed down from one generation to the next.

In other parts of the country, farmers refuse to rejuvenate trees – cutting them down to just a foot high in the case of coffee – because the elders or “gods” will get angry. This is why we are hard-pressed to rejuvenate century-old trees, and they grow to heights no longer practical, because one cannot pick fruits 20 or 30 feet high in those trees. That is the case with many coffee trees that grow amidst forest species. They struggle to find sunlight because the trees have grown taller, making them achieve ripeness at a later time, delivering a flavor that is special. So there indeed are trade offs – shade-grown coffee trees are hard to harvest from, but they develop unusual complex flavors during the long struggle for sunlight and a longer period of time consumed to ripeness.

Other practices of our older farmers actually follow the biodynamic way of farming, where bio or life is mixed with the energy of the cosmos. Though they have no term for it, farmers follow the moon when planting, spray their vitamins (biodynamic concoctions) during new moon and the sweeteners during full moon, and only at certain times of that day. Believe it or not, we do it now at the farm, following biodynamic practices and the fruits have never been sweeter and more plentiful. Some say that biodynamic agriculture is a higher form of organic farming.

At a recent radio show I was a guest in, we talked about sustainability and challenges in growing our own food. So I again harped on growing small farms while the hosts talked about the popular topic of land reform and policies. I choose to still insist on small farms to feed the farmers, or producers. Only their excess production must go to consumers. It is considered by many as a dreamy solution. While we argue about mono cropping vs multi cropping a farm, people in Coron, Palawan already have proven they can grow their own vegetables after our talks under The Coron Initiative project in 2012. I now know of small farms supplying hotels and restaurants. When we first went to Coron in 2012, they imported all their vegetables from Puerto Princesa, which were imported from Baguio and Balintawak. It took almost 10 years, but Coron can now be self-sufficient. Necessity is, indeed, the mother of invention.

Another successful insular solution in food production  is Isabela City in Basilan. During the pandemic, they were isolated and they realized they had no choice but to grow their own food, fish their own seafood and this actually brought about a growth in their economy. Though they also realized they could not eat rubber (Isabela has plenty of rubber tree plantations), this made the local government and the province rethink their agricultural priorities. Coffee and fruit trees are now the choices in lieu of rubber. So if even a small city can survive on its own, why can we not do this in the other island provinces? To be isolated can actually be a blessing – they contained their COVID cases, and people grew their own food.

Examples like Coron and Isabela City are not accidents in planning or are part of an LGU master plan. They were brought about by sheer need (matinding pangangailangan) – the need to be self-sufficient in food production rather than depend on imports from other provinces. Now, take those success stories to a macro-level, that of the whole country. Is it hard to imagine being food secure?

Let us put on our creative hats as our forefathers did. It does not need reading textbooks or hiring consultants. We just follow what our ancestors did – whether it is practicing organic agriculture or biodynamic farming, the solution is right before our eyes.

But did they think of making money? They did not have money. They just hunted and fed their young. They planted and reaped harvests. There was no talk about money. Money is the root that leads to the long discussions about accomplishing most of the time, nothing.

So let’s try another route. Self sufficiency through old practices: heirloom seeds that continue to grow each time we plant, growing food for our own families and communities, and keeping our harvested rice for our own use and not for selling.