Day in Life of a Food Crowd Farmer
The sweetness of the apple and the freshness of zucchini in every bite makes it easy to appreciate what is being served without fully appreciating the work that goes into growing it. Local farmers make it their priority to grow fresh, nutritious food –– food that wouldn’t make it to our tables without their dedication.
Farmers strive out in their fields and tunnels on any given day, making sure to provide us with food. There is more to a farmer’s job than just planting the seed –– here is an insider to a day in the life of one of our farmers; Paul.
Paul is an enthusiastic farmer at Food Crowd that holds a great amount of love for agriculture. He chose this field in the early years of his education and successfully graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, scoring a major in agronomy from the University of Southeastern Philippines USEP.
As we would like to quote him
“Living on a farm makes me appreciate nature.”
He has set a goal in his life towards spreading awareness of agriculture. Certainly, agriculture has been one of the most neglected parts when it comes to awareness, while it is also the most important when it comes to surviving.
Paul has excelled in multiple aspects of agriculture. It’s no exaggeration when we say “He breathes agriculture!” Being part of this field for a long time, he has managed to attend several seminars and exhibitions for agriculture sustainability. Learning new technology during international courses in IPM – Integrated Pest Management has been a great turn in his career.
A day that begins before sunrise, has to be a great one! Being a farmer, Paul is an early riser. His schedule revolves around work time from 5:30 AM to 11:30 AM. After some rest, he gets back to the grind and works from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM –– a routine that starts with the hustle and ends with one too.
5:30 AM: Rise and shine! The day often starts by opening up tunnels and greenhouses to give a breath of fresh air to the crops. A daily checklist is prepared to get started with the day in a planned manner.
6:30 AM: Time for crops to get hydrated! In times of extreme weather like drought or heat, irrigation is crucial. Food Crowd farms are technologically advanced, however, our farmers love to put a personal touch with hand watering the fields often.
7:30 AM: Food Crowd farmers follow the organic farming practices, therefore, an enormous amount of their time is devoted to weeding.
As Paul likes to state:
“It is a philosophy of working together with nature.”
This often involves little more than just gloves and a hoe tool which can be quite a task.
8:30 AM: Harvesting is where our farmers are the most excited! Collecting one’s hard work and seeing it bloom beautifully is something all of us should be grateful for.
10 AM: Once the produce has been harvested, it’s time to wash and package it all up for transport.
11:30 AM: BREAK –– During this time Paul likes to spend time with his friends and family. He rests and grabs a bite.
3 PM: Chances are, something else needs weeding. Let’s get back to work.
4 PM: Protecting plants from pests is very important, therefore each crop is given individual attention.
6 PM: The sunset is near and the weather gets pleasant, it’s where the farmers say goodbye to their fields and head off home.
And the grind repeats!
Growing food is no easy task, and we owe a great deal of appreciation to these dedicated farmers who keep us well fed.