For 34 years, urban gardening was the way the life of Roger Medenilla has been. Roger was a long-time rice farmer back in Bicol but due to poverty and the situation of local farmers, he left the province in 1987. He braved Greater Manila to take risk of having a better life. He started in Las Piñas and transferred to several areas in Cavite throughout the years.
With both being widowed and the knowledge in urban gardening, Gemma Medenilla, present wife, bonded with Roger in 2019. In 2020, the couple discovered the 1.8 hectares of idled land along Molino Rd. in Bacoor, Cavite and brought life to it.
“Mas maganda nitong kasagsagan ng lockdown dahil hindi nakakabiyahe ‘yung ibang kakumpitensiya mula sa malalayo, mas nabibili nang mahal ang gulay namin (Things were better for us during the lockdown since other suppliers from afar weren’t able to deliver their products—which made our vegetables sold at a higher price),” Roger shared how they’re doing well in contrast with the majority of people’s current situation.
“Nakikita ko ‘yung iba na nakakabili ng malalaking bahay at sasakyan (I saw others able to buy big houses and cars),” Roger told as the reason why he ventured into urban agriculture. And true that, he was able to buy a house and lot, two vehicles, and send his children to school which he doubted to achieve if he continued being a rice farmer with not owning the land they cultivate.
According to Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) 2015 Poverty Statistics and 2018 poverty incidence estimation, farmers are constantly one of the sectors posting the highest poverty incidences. And from a research paper published in 2003 about land issues stating 7 out of 10 Filipino farmers are landless, the data jumped to an amount of 9 out of 10 farmers do not own the land they till in a 2017 documentation by the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP).
This photo story is first published on kelmalazarte.com. Kel Malazarte is a community photojournalist in the Philippines.