Gone With the Wind - Plight of the Sugarcane Farmers

Glancing out her window Narcisa takes a deep breath, emulating a sense of dismay.

"It takes sugarcane 10 months to become ready for harvest. Planting the seedlings, cleaning, weeding, fertilization and constant care is needed for a good harvest. You know this was the time of harvest," says she shaking off her fleeting look of despair as she steps away from the window facing the sugarcane fields nearby.

"And now, this year, after a 10 month investment, I am uncertain of the outcome because the typhoon has damaged the crops; the sugar processing unit is damaged too. I feel helpless and sad."

Narcisa, 41, used to work on sugarcane plantations, earning a stable income. All that changed the day typhoon Haiyan hit Ormoc. 

According to some media reports "In Ormoc alone the estimate damage to sugar industry is 1 billion USD. There is an estimate prediction of 40 per cent decrease sugar production and 30 per cent loss of crop production." 

For fellow sugarcane plantation worker Christina, living just few blocks away from Narcisa's, making two ends meet was a challenge. She has a family of 13 but the sugarcane plantation has been her saving grace. 

Working in the plantations from a very early age, for 31 toiling years, it had become her identity, her world. Showing no mercy, the typhoon ripped her away the very thing she needed for sustenance. With the sugarcane crops damaged and the processing unit shut, the sugarcane operations were suspended. 

"My house is damaged and parts of the crops damaged. This hurts my heart. The income from the sugarcane plantations is my only means of survival. It has been taken away. The relief goods, given by World Vision are the only thing that is keeping us going. My husband has taken up some small jobs; which helps a little," she says.

"The typhoon has put a stop to our work. The owner of the land where I work has been affected too. Because of the strong winds, the sugarcane crops fell. This will affect the quantity and the quality of the sugar it will produce. There is no work, activities are suspended. So now I go wash other people’s laundry to earn whatever little I can. My husband now helps with small repairs in other people’s homes," she says. 

Jessica, chairperson of Dacopa community, managed a savings and credit association in Dayhagan.

Most of the area has sugarcane plantations. The primary source of income for the families here is from these plantations.

“The community managed savings and credit association, like ours, initiated by World Vision, is trying to help its members back on their feet. Whatever savings we have, we are inter-loaning to members in need to re-build their homes or buy food. Since the work in the plantations has been suspended, people are finding other odd jobs to earn whatever they can, like carpentry and laundry. It will take at least 6 to 10 months to get back to normal production," Jessica says

Not letting the typhoon get the better of them, with a positive outlook and street smartness the women adapt to the scenario vehemently placed them.

"I used to get 600 pesos [13 US dollars] from working in the sugarcane plantations. With that gone and now doing laundry I get only 200-300 pesos [4 to 6 US dollars]. I make a lot less now, but I am spending the money wisely. I tell my children that we need to find joy and happiness in whatever little we have. They need to learn how to adjust. But there is always hope that someday we will be able to buy things we want, like we used to. Though we have less, we celebrate, thanking God for whatever He has given us and the healthy bodies we have. I will continue to fight and not let the circumstance around me win," says Narcisa. 

"My children are my motivation. Because of them I will not accept defeat. I will try my best to provide for them," says Christina.