DAVAO CITY (November 5)— In the upland community of Sitio Sulgamao, Barangay Datal Anggas, two traditional rice varieties carry more than grain in their harvest—they carry the farming knowledge, culture, and heritage of generations of Blaan farmers.
The Lapinig and Mayaman upland rice varieties are being preserved through a continuing collaboration between the Local Government Unit of Alabel, through its Office of the Municipal Agriculturist (OMAG), and local farmers who continue to practice traditional upland rice cultivation.
On November 4, 2026, OMAG personnel joined farmers in Sitio Sulgamao to witness the harvest of the two traditional varieties, marking an important stage in an initiative that began months earlier with planting.
The journey began on June 4, 2026, when OMAG personnel worked alongside local farmers to plant Lapinig and Mayaman, two upland rice varieties long part of the community’s agricultural traditions.
After months of cultivation and care, the fields were ready for harvest.
For the farmers, however, the harvest represents more than the completion of another planting season.
It continues a traditional farming practice and helps keep local rice varieties alive at a time when many traditional agricultural practices risk being forgotten.
The initiative was undertaken in partnership with landowners Franci Salda and Lorena Salda, who share OMAG’s goal of preserving traditional upland rice farming and sustaining the agricultural heritage practiced in the community.
Lapinig and Mayaman are more than local rice varieties.
For the Blaan farmers who continue to cultivate them, these traditional crops represent ancestral knowledge passed from one generation to another knowledge reflected not only in the seeds themselves, but also in the ways the land is prepared, the crops are planted, nurtured, and eventually harvested.
Preserving these varieties therefore means preserving part of the community’s agricultural identity.
Continuing to plant Lapinig and Mayaman also gives younger generations a chance to learn that farming is not simply about producing food. It is also about protecting seeds, remembering traditional practices, and maintaining a connection between people, land, and culture.
The collaboration between the LGU and farmers demonstrates how government support and community knowledge can work together to protect agricultural traditions.
Rather than replacing traditional practices, the initiative helps give them space to continue and potentially reach a new generation of farmers.
The Alabel LGU’s support for traditional rice farming also extends beyond cultivation.
The municipality is working to create better market opportunities for local farmers by promoting their produce and helping bring traditional rice varieties closer to consumers.
As part of this effort, milled Lapinig and Mayaman upland rice are expected to be available for purchase beginning November 26, 2026, at the soon-to-open KADIWA Store at the Alabel Mega Public Market.
The rice will be sold at ₱80 per kilogram, with pre-orders currently being accepted.
The initiative gives consumers an opportunity to support local farmers while helping create a market for traditional rice varieties.
For farmers, a stronger market can mean greater value for their harvest. For the community, it can mean keeping traditional crops economically viable. And for the next generation, it can provide another reason to continue cultivating the varieties handed down by their ancestors.
The story of Lapinig and Mayaman ultimately goes beyond Rice Awareness Month.
It is a story about what happens when government support meets community knowledge and when farmers are given the opportunity to preserve what they have inherited while creating new opportunities for their produce.
Every grain harvested from the upland fields of Datal Anggas carries the work of the farmers who planted it, the knowledge of those who came before them, and the hope that the tradition will not end with their generation.
From Lapinig and Mayaman in the upland fields of Alabel to the tables of local families, the message is simple: preserving traditional rice means preserving the people, knowledge, and culture behind it.
And sometimes, keeping an agricultural tradition alive begins with something as small as saving a seed and planting it again.-Eugene C Hinutan
