Rice farming not just for men

MANILA, Philippines - Rice farming used to be the exclusive domain of the men in the family because it requires much physical strength and stamina. It was a traditional practice for the male heirs to take over from the father the task of managing and tilling the farm which is considered the most valuable asset that the parents could leave their children.

But the Valladolid family of Capuy, Sorsogon was no ordinary family.

It was Eduarda Valladolid-Ayo, fondly called “Eden,” who took over the responsibility of managing the family’s five-hectare rice farm when their father died. Because most of her siblings had careers of their own Eden, who had known the intricacies of farming and had shown a great interest in farming assumed the task of managing their ricefields, ricemill and palay and rice trading business. Although she herself had tucked a bachelor’s degree in Social Science, she opted to go full-time into farming.

Eventually, she established the E.V. Ayo Ricemill and ventured into allied businesses in line with rice farming and milling. She also embarked on trading palay, rice, copra, fertilizers and pesticides, as well as palay seed growing and hog breeding. She has also ventured into rice seed production and joined the elite group of see grower which was dominated only by male big-time farmers in the 1980s.

“With the diversity of farm activites, we had to rename our business,” Eden said.

Renamed E.V. Ayo Enterprise and run by Eden’s entire family, what started as a small business venture has provided jobs to over 3,000 regular farm workers in their rice fields alone at an average of 20 workers per hectare. They also hire additional seasonal workers as haulers and dryers during harvests. Regular workers are paid P150 – P170 per day while haulers are paid P10-P50 per sack depending on the distance from the highway where the palay are gathered.

For every hectare, the Valladolids spend an average of P50,000 and harvest 100 to 130 sacks of palay. From this they obtain a net income of P20,000 – P60,000 per hectare or a total of P3-P9 million per cropping. In 2008, they harvested 16,000 bags of palay. 

E.V. Ayo Enterprise sells palay seeds to other regions and provinces like Palawan, Tarlac, Region IV and Region II and some nearby provinces of Bicol. Seeds that do not pass the certification are milled and sold as rice grains in their own NFA-accredited store in Capuy and the rest to another store owned by one of her sisters in Sorsogon city.

Aside from the rice mill, Eden and her family have built three warehouses and a drying pavement measuring about 4,000 square meters. They have also acquired one unit of 10-wheeler truck, one self-loader, a back hoe, seven units hand tractors, threshers, blowers, and a dump truck.

Recently, the family acquired three units of recirculating dryer capable of drying 120 sacks of palay per operation. Each unit is worth P630,000. These facilities use rice hull as fuel, thus, they are very cost-efficient. 

“It is worker-friendly, unlike other mechanical dryers that have health-risks by exposing workers to too much heat,” Eden explains.

Eden regards the farm location as an important factor for her high yield production. The Capuy lot is situated near a natura spring which serves as a source of irrigation. The area also has very fertile volcanic soil. She also uses balanced fertilization, combining commercial fertilizer with organic. She buys dried chicken dung and utilizes the hog manure from their piggery farm as fertilizer. She also follows the Palay Check System an integrated rice management system.

Nowadays, she continues to advocate for synchronous planting among her fellow farmers to prevent infestation and pest population build-up. 

“Also if you are a seed grower, it is a must for you to undergo training on latest rice production technologies and improved production practices,” she explained.

At 56, Eden remains full of energy and enthusiasm. She makes regular rounds on foot of their farms to be sure that she would not miss any small details. She is also constantly in touch with her farm workers and neighbors. A low-profile multi-millionaire, she has remained humble and soft-spoken. Although, she could have built herself a mansion in any of the uptown subdivisions, she opted to live in the same house and stay in same compound with her siblings close to where their rice fields are.

A woman with a keen business acumen, Eden knows where to put her investments and manage her resources well. Their family has invested in a 1,500 sow-level breeder farm in Rosario, Batangas being managed by her brother Joel. The dried manure from this farm are transported to Sorsogon and processed into fertilizer treated with the EM solution to remove the foul odor and hasten decomposition.

For her accomplishments and success and for her efficient use of the loan she obtained from the Land Bank of the Philippines she was awarded a special citation (SME Gabay at Patnubay) during the 200 Gawad Entrepreneur Award ceremonies in Manila. 

She advises her fellow farmers not to rely too much on government support but to rely on their own strength and capabilities to uplift themselves.

“After all our country is so much blessed with natural resource,” she said. “We should not expect others to produce the rice seeds and our food for us. We should do it by ourselves.”

Eden is now training her 31-year old son Aldin to learn the ropes of the family enterprise. Aldin, who studied in Manila and was once a basketball player in the NCAA, has recently married and has now settled also in Capuy assisting in the family enterprise. From time to time Aldin goes to Batangas to check on their piggery farm there.

After a tiring day, Eden spends time with her family or retreats into her own little garden of Eden.

As this year’s women’s month celebration aptly affirms: “Babae, Yaman ka ng Bayan”, Bicol’s very own Eden Valladolid-Ayo enjoys the wealth and bounty that rice farming ha given her. She is truly an invaluable treasure not only of the province of Sorsogon provinc but of the entire Bicolandia region and the rest of the nation.