Philippines’ women seaweed farmers keep coastal families afloat
BALINTANG听–听Despite the ravages of storms,听蝉别补飞别别诲听farming is transforming the lives of Filipino听蹿补尘颈濒颈别蝉听in traditionally male-dominated fishing communities, turning听飞辞尘别苍听into family breadwinners who are paying for their children to go to college.
The Cherish Fisherfolk Cooperative of 120听蝉别补飞别别诲听蹿补谤尘别谤蝉听in the Palawan village of Balintang is named after the 1984 hit “Cherish” by US band Kool & the Gang.
“Cherish means to protect and care for what we have,” Mardy Montano, president of the cooperative, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation as she rested after a day’s work on a floating house in the midst of Palawan’s turquoise waters.
“That’s how valuable听蝉别补飞别别诲听farming is for all of us.”
厂别补飞别别诲听farming is the world’s fastest-growing form of aquaculture and the Philippines is the fourth largest producer globally. More than 1 million Filipinos benefit from the听蝉别补飞别别诲听industry, according to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.
In 1995, when Ms. Montano settled in Balintang, only a few听飞辞尘别苍听in the village farmed听蝉别补飞别别诲听and their earnings were marginal.
Increased support from the local government and private funders led to an uptick in production from 2017, when Ms. Montano and other听飞辞尘别苍听formed the Cherish Fisherfolk Association to grow their farms together.
It is now a lucrative business. Balintang听蝉别补飞别别诲听蹿补谤尘别谤蝉听earn 20,000 to 40,000 Philippine pesos ($358 to $715) a month, compared to about 5,000 pesos made by small-scale fishermen.
Unlike fishing and rice farming – both capital and labour-intensive –听蝉别补飞别别诲听provides an income every 45 days, the typical cultivation cycle.
“The听飞辞尘别苍听in our village are no longer just confined at home. We don’t just simply wait for our husbands to come back from the sea,” said Ms. Montano. “Through听蝉别补飞别别诲, we now play a huge role in our family and community.”
Ms. Monta帽o’s eldest child is now an agricultural engineer.
“All because of听蝉别补飞别别诲听farming,” she said.
厂贰础奥贰贰顿听FARMING A FAMILY ENTERPRISE
On a typical day, Cherish听飞辞尘别苍听gather in a small nipa hut – a thatched house on stilts common in rural Philippines – to attach听蝉别补飞别别诲听cuttings to long nylon ropes. The men then take the lines offshore to farms of about 2,500 meters squared.
Some six weeks later, the听蝉别补飞别别诲听is harvested and the听飞辞尘别苍听set it out to dry in the sun for two to three days, then sell it locally for processing into crisps or noodles or to export as carrageenan – a valuable additive in food and pharmaceuticals.
Last year, the Department of Agriculture developed a five-year听蝉别补飞别别诲听industry roadmap to help the country become the “global market’s preferred听蝉别补飞别别诲听and carrageenan supplier”.
The World Bank-assisted Philippine Rural Development Project has also identified听蝉别补飞别别诲听as one of eight commodities of national importance, or priority crops for development and trade.
厂别补飞别别诲听farming is often a family enterprise involving the entire household. Mothers share the work with their children who help attach听蝉别补飞别别诲听cuttings to the lines.
“奥辞尘别苍听lead the farming process from nursery to harvesting,” said Palawan agricultural officer Pacita Bravo.
Melinda Gimotea, a mother of five, has managed the family听蝉别补飞别别诲听farm for two decades while her husband is away fishing.
“I’m always happy during harvest time because it means I can buy my children’s needs, like food and school supplies,” said Ms. Gimotea, who has not only passed on her knowledge to her children, but also sent them all to college.
She fondly recalled heading out towards the open sea to check their听蝉别补飞别别诲听crop with her youngest daughter, Charry, who is now studying fisheries in college.
CLIMATE CHANGE
Storms, however, often dash much of the听蹿补谤尘别谤蝉‘ hard work. An archipelago in the western Pacific, the Philippines is among countries most at risk from climate change and is hit by typhoons about 20 times a year.
When Tropical Storm Nalgae hit the Philippines in October, it destroyed a floating dryer donated by the United States Agency for International Development. The debris litters the shore.
When large storms hit Balintang,听蝉别补飞别别诲听lines in the shallows are washed away and around half the crop is lost.
Wilfred John Santianez, a marine scientist focusing on听蝉别补飞别别诲, said the plant is vulnerable, not only to stronger and more frequent storms, but also to rising sea temperatures.
“Most of the听蝉别补飞别别诲s are just floating near the surface of the sea, so they’re receiving much of the heat,” said Mr. Santia帽ez, who teaches at the University of the Philippines.
Mr. Santianez said direct sunlight and heat reduce the plants’ capacity to photosynthesize and leave them vulnerable to disease and a growing number of bacterial infections such as ice-ice, which leads to whitening and hardening of听蝉别补飞别别诲听tissues.
But聽蹿补谤尘别谤蝉听can adapt to warming temperatures by deep sea cultivation. Ms. Montano hopes donors can help them farm further out to sea.
Last year, Cherish became a cooperative – a business that is owned by its members who get a democratic voice in how it is run – to earn more from selling directly to bigger traders and processing plants.
Being organized as a cooperative is also often a requirement of donors and the government for material and technical assistance, Ms. Monta帽o said.
The success of Indonesia – the world’s top听蝉别补飞别别诲听producer – was due to government funding of grassroots cooperatives, according to the听笔丑颈濒颈辫辫颈苍别蝉’听Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.
Following its neighbor’s strategy,聽the Philippines has funded 10听蝉别补飞别别诲听cooperatives in the provinces of Palawan, Albay, Sorsogon, Bohol, Dinagat and Surigao Del Sur and is planning to establish more听蝉别补飞别别诲听nursery cooperatives.
For Ms. Montano, the social aspect is equally important.
“The farming process is being done as a collective,” she said. “We drink coffee, eat biscuits and share stories with other members while doing it. That’s how we form a bond.” – Reuters
