Farmer na, Teacher Pa: Lessons from a Farmer-Teacher

“Kung iti-train mo na sila in their early years, kahit bata pa sila, kaya na nila magtanim. Kasi sa simpleng malunggay, sa simpleng alugbati, kangkong, makikita na nila na, ay, kaya ko palang magpatubo [ng pananim]” 

[If you train them early, even as young children, they can already learn how to grow crops. Through simple plants like malunggay, alugbati, and kangkong, they realize that they are capable of growing their own food.]

Learning is often seen as something gained in school, but for a farmer-teacher like Eleanor, it extends beyond classroom lessons. It began in the land that first shaped her.

Growing up in their rice paddies, the fields became a playground for Eleanor and her playmates. They would have role-plays, imitating the work she saw farmers do. She would carry sacks of rice and playfully toss them to her playmates. Alongside these games, she would also help her parents with the work.

“Dati, gusto namin, bukas mag-aani na. Parang ginagawa naming laro. Turo ng nanay ko, yung patience talaga sa lahat ng bagay, napakalaking tulong. Pinaka-importante is yung marunong mag-antay."

[Back then, I would like to harvest even before the harvesting time. We thought of it as a game. My mom taught me that patience is a huge help. It is important to know how to wait.]

When she became an adult, her joy in farming remained as strong as when she was younger. Her mother's teachings are very much alive and stayed with her, reminding her that farming demands commitment and patience. She learned early on that through these values, one can harvest the fruits of one's labor.

She continues to carry these principles and her passion for farming, even as she took on the role of a daycare teacher. The lessons from her childhood are what she now hopes to pass on to her pupils. For Eleanor, learning how to grow one’s own food is not just a skill but a way to understand patience, care, and commitment—values she learned from her mother.

Eleanor brings learning into practice beyond the four corners of the classroom. She is determined to start with children from a young age. In their daycare backyard, she uses the soil, water, and vegetable crops as her teaching materials. She demonstrates to her pupils aged two to four how to plant vegetables such as alugbati and kangkong. Through exposing children to food production, she emphasizes the importance of agriculture so they can grow healthy and strong.

“Mayroon kaming field trip na itinuro ko sa kanila yung pagtatanim ng malunggay. So, makikita ng mga bata na yung tanim nila talagang tumutubo.”

[We have a field trip where I teach them how to plant malunggay, so the children can see that what they plant truly grows.]

In the Philippines, fewer young people are engaging in farming. Many choose a faster-paced life in the city, as farmers remain in the rural areas. The average age of a Filipino farmer is now estimated at 57 to 60 years old, indicating a labour gap in the agriculture sector. This raises concerns about the future of food production and security.

But for farmer-teachers like Eleanor, farming is not something to be left behind. She believes that early exposure to agriculture can help children see it not as a fallback, but as a way of life that they can grow with.

For her, farming is not something to escape from. Growing your own food is a way of learning and passing knowledge forward. It is something to live with and learn from, regardless of one’s profession.

Lesson #1: Learning by Doing

Being a farmer-teacher, more like a mother, was her calling, especially because her pupils had to walk 2 to 3 kilometers to attend their classes and arrive without breakfast. When she first began teaching in their daycare center, there were also no vegetable crops growing in the area. 

Similar to Eleanor’s students, many Filipino children experience food insecurity. An estimated two million children live in severe food poverty. Studies show that a child from a food-insecure household is seven times more likely to be underweight.

To address this in their community, she transformed the empty spaces in the daycare into a small backyard garden. She also shares her farming practice with parents, emphasizing that health is the foundation for performing well in school.

Over time, this small garden extended its impact through its feeding program. Vegetables are now a regular part of their meals, such as tinola with malunggay, grown by the students themselves. This also motivated her to encourage the parents of her pupils to plant crops without pesticides or chemicals. 

In the Philippines, these noble efforts are often underappreciated and, in many cases, overlooked. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), women make up more than 25% of the agricultural workforce, yet many still lack access to institutional support. 

Many women farmers continue to face barriers in accessing land, resources, and training opportunities that could further strengthen their work. While women farmers like Eleanor remain patient and persistent despite the challenges, institutional support matters for continued growth and building capacity. Their nurturing hands deserve systems that sustain their contributions to food security.

Lesson #2: Knowledge Grows when Farmers Become Learners

When Eleanor joined the Engendering Access project for smallholder farmers, she also had the opportunity to learn about rice and corn breeding. She is an active farmer member of Camingawan Lumboy Pinamus-an Tamlang Farmers Association. In their farmer field school, she proactively learns about practical and science-based farming skills, which expanded her experience beyond traditional farming knowledge.

Similar to her students, she compared transplanting to teaching, as both require patience and guidance. She explained that her training led to changes in rice cultivation, particularly in transplanting, the process of transferring young rice seedlings from the seedbed to the field. 

Back then, they used to transplant five to ten seedlings in one spot. Through training, she learned that planting just one seedling is enough. Over time, that single seedling produces multiple tillers, which means that it can grow into many shoots. With more space to grow, the plants become healthier and more productive than before. 

Eleanor is no stranger to climate change challenges, such as typhoons. Through her participation in the project, she learned that plant height plays an important role in crop survival. They observed that taller rice varieties are more easily damaged by strong winds. Her rice breeding training taught her that learning new knowledge meant opportunities. It allowed her to become more intentional in choosing crop varieties that are better adapted to the climatic conditions.

Lesson #3: Small Actions Can Grow into Lasting Change

Her hands cultivate passion. Her voice carries lessons that shape young lives. Despite the numerous challenges in both daycare and farming, love and patience keep Eleanor going, values that also guide her pupils as they continue to learn and pursue their dreams. She hopes to inspire more pupils to learn how to plant and grow their own food.

“Magkaroon po sana ng pagmamahal sa pagtatanim [ang mga bata]. Kung anong tinuro mo talaga, maitatanim sa puso at isipan nila. I believe na paglaki nila, madadala po talaga nila yan.” 

[I hope they’ll love planting. What you teach will be planted in their hearts and memory. I believe that as they grow, they will carry it with them.]

The work of women like Eleanor sustains life in many forms, from alleviating food insecurity to shaping the next generation. She showed that growth does not always mean leaving your roots behind. You can still find meaning, learning, and transformation in the very place where you already stand. She hopes that what she plants—both in the soil and in her pupils—will grow and thrive with resilience over time, either in school or in fields.

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This article is part of the project “Engendering Access of Smallholder Farmers to Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture for Conservation and Sustainable Use,” funded by the Benefit-Sharing Fund of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Through this initiative, farmers like Eleanor are supported in strengthening their access to diverse seeds, knowledge, and local seed systems, enabling them not only to improve their livelihoods but also to actively contribute to the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources.