Women can thrive well in agriculture.
Sheila M. Maglines, a farmer from Barangay Nong-nong, Butuan City, is Caraga region’s 2023 Most Outstanding Rural Woman.
Maglines received the recognition during the recent Women's Summit spearheaded by the Regional Gender and Development Committee (RGADC) Caraga as part of this year’s celebration of National Women’s Month.
Maglines is the owner of the Guia Integrated Farm and chairperson of the Nongnong Farmers Association, which has 50 active members. Thirty-eight of them are female farmers, and seven are engaged in vegetable farming, while the rest are into consolidated crops.
Sheila M. Maglines was hailed as Caraga region’s 2023 Most Outstanding Rural Woman during the Women’s Summit on March 8, 2024, which kicked off the celebration of this year’s National Women’s Month. (Photo of PIA Caraga)
Maglines shared her triumphant journey in agriculture on “Bahandi sa Kaumahan,” a broadcast platform of the Department of Agriculture (DA) Caraga that paid tribute to the awardee, who served as a motivation in the agriculture sector and an inspiration to all women.
When asked about her relevance to the community, Maglines replied that she continues to encourage women and even men to embrace and be productive in agriculture.
She said, “Agriculture is for everyone, regardless of gender. I am a living testimony that women can be productive in agriculture and we can contribute to our families.”
“We should not be afraid to venture into agriculture since this field is sustainable because we provide food on the table,” she added.
The March 25, 2024 episode of the Department of Agriculture Caraga’s Bahandi sa Kaumahan featured Sheila M. Maglines, the regional winner of the 2023 Most Outstanding Rural Woman. She shared the genesis and inspiration behind her love of agriculture. (Photo of PIA Caraga)
Maglines disclosed that it was in 2019, during the COVID-19 pandemic, that her group navigated from traditional to modern farming by enrolling in the Learning Site for Agriculture under the DA - Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) in Caraga.
The group received multiple capacity trainings and support from DA and the local agriculture office, such as the linkage established by these offices for the association to have a stable market for their banana products and other crops.
The members of the Nong-nong Farmers Association in Barangay Nongnong in Butuan City showed the consolidated crops and vegetables from their farms. These farmers are grateful for the training and support of the Department of Agriculture, its attached agencies, and the local agriculture office in Butuan City. Photo courtesy of DA Caraga.
With dedication, bravery, and resilience, it opened another opportunity for Maglines and other members to upskill themselves in vegetable farming through “AgriBoost,” the banner program on agriculture of the city government of Butuan.
She actively joined AgriBoost's farmer field school (FFS) training program that helped her develop and nurture her vegetable farm, stating, “Sa wala pako mi-skwela sa FFS, daghang mga technology nga wala pako kabalo. Tungod sa FFS, ang akong vegetable farm instead of 1 hectare, karon nagimprove gyud ciya into two hectares.”
[Before my schooling in FFS, I had no knowledge of vegetable farming technologies. Because of FFS, my vegetable farm used to be one hectare; now it has expanded to two hectares.]
She further planned to add a hectare with the promising income brought by AgriBoost.
On March 21, during the first-year celebration of AgriBoost’s dry-run operation, it recognized Maglines as one of the ten champion vegetable farmers of the program. She was among the five farmers who also received a greenhouse facility.
Sheila M. Maglines showed her agricultural prowess to Butuan City’s AgriBoost, as she was recognized as one of the ten champion vegetable farmers of the program. With this, she received a greenhouse facility from AgriBoost to better support the expansion of the vegetable farm due to climate change. Photo courtesy of Butuan-Bloomberg Champion City.
In her interview with DA Caraga, she disclosed that farming is no walk in the park and recalled, “It was harsh as my everyday trip in the barangay was like navigating a lion's den—rough and perilous roads—and the areas were shadowed by conflict due to limited transportation and neglected areas brought by continuous clashes between rebels and government forces. However, these challenges did not stop me from managing and improving my farm and the lives of the members of our group.” (RLE/PIA Caraga)
