Junie has risen earlier than the sun. Outside it’s cold, dark and misty yet a sheen of sweat has already appeared on the young man’s forehead after trekking his way up the steep trail. At the hilltop, almost a kilometer away from his house, is Junie’s farm. It overlooks the rolling landscape and shoreline of Buenavista, a town some 23 kilometers west of Butuan.

Junie Awa is a 23-year-old farmer practicing integrated farming system and Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) on vegetable production. In his farm, he grows vegetable, rice, cacao, banana, coconut and other fruit trees. He also raises livestock such as swine, chicken and duck.

“I started early in farming. My parents are farmers so at an early age we’ve been helping them feed the pigs or water the plants. Then at 15, I started growing my own sitao, upo and kalabasa. At 18, I was already managing our farm. I love what I’m doing. It’s not a job for me. It’s a way of life.” Junie quipped with a proud smile.

Besides being a farmer, Junie is also a youth leader and an active member of the 4H Club. This is a youth organization that advocates youth development by encouraging youngsters to reach their fullest potential. It was his high school teacher who encouraged him to join the 4H. He told Junie how the club could be a stepping stone in obtaining a scholarship and travelling to Japan. Motivated by the words of his teacher, Junie joined the 4H Club and was elected as his school’s 4H Club President. Through his 4H Club affiliation, he was able to grow better crops and livestock at the same time honed his social and leadership skills.

After finishing high school, Junie skipped college to help his parents in farming. In 2014, he became a 4H Club President for the Out-of-School Youth (OSY) in Buenavista. A year later, in 2015, he was elected as Provincial 4H Club President. Being an industrious farmer-leader, he was a recipient of livestock dispersals and various assistance from the government such as seeds, farm implements and training programs which helped in further developing his farm.

“We were brought up to work hard. My parents said if we strive hard we will survive,” said Junie. And so he continued to work hard in his farm until slowly he started to reap the fruits of success. In 2014, he received a recognition as Provincial and Regional Gawad Saka Outstanding Young Farmer at the age of 19. On that same year, he represented Caraga Region at the National Gawad Saka awards where he won 3rd place. His total cash winnings from the regional and national levels amounted to Php 80,000 which he used for the expansion of his farm.

Through Gawad Saka, it paved the way for the fulfillment of Junie’s high school dream to experience the Land of the Rising Sun – Japan. Because of his commendable track record as a young farmer, the Agricultural Training Institute in Caraga Region backed his application to the Young Filipino Farmer Training Program in Japan or YFFTPJ. This program seeks to provide technical knowledge and skills in agricultural management, offers opportunity for an exchange of agricultural information and provide opportunity for Filipino farmers to imbibe Japanese culture and work values. His Gawad Saka award has helped him earn a spot in this highly-competitive scholarship program. After months-long pre-training activities in the Philippines, Junie finally reached Japan in the summer of 2016. There he lived in the house of his Japanese foster parents in Nagano Prefecture for 12 months to learn technologies and adapt to the Japanese way of life.

While in Japan, Junie honed his Nihonggo and learned, among others, apple farming, grafting, feed mixing (using sea foods and eggshells), and driving state-of-the-art tractors and backhoes. Junie also observed how strong the support of the government was to the local farmers and how easy it was for farmers to market their products. This was what he hoped Philippines will achieve in the future.

Time management was another aspect of the Japanese culture Junie learned to love and embraced. He was amazed how the Japanese value every minute of their time. In his foster parents’ house, he has a specific time to get up, cook, eat, feed the livestock, tour around the city and sleep. His attention will be called if he wakes up late or takes a snooze outside his nap time. Japanese simply hates laziness, gossiping, drinking alcohol and wasting money and time. If there is anything more precious than gold for them, it would probably be ‘time’ said Junie.

Upon his return to the Philippines, Junie brought with him many learnings most importantly the value of time, farming, perseverance and hardwork which he wanted to teach to the youth. Immediately, he established his GAP vegetable farm at the same time constructed a new pig pen with water feeding system. All courtesy of DA and ATI’s livelihood assistance amounting to Php 150,000. In 2017, Junie earned around Php 400,000 from his vegetable production and another Php 150,000 from his swine and chicken production.

As a way of paying his good fortune forward, Junie acted as foster parent to the applicants of the YFFTPJ program and to the 4Hers under the “Adopt a 4H Homestay” program by accommodating them in his farm. Here, Junie taught them a well-disciplined way of life and shared the important lessons he experienced in Japan. Through the partnership with the Department of Education, Junie also organized 4H Clubs in Malapong Elementary School and Abulan National High School. There he established the “Gulayan sa Paaralan” program where he advocated to the children the practice of time management, farming, and eating healthy and nutritious vegetables.

To further his advocacy and to reach out to more youngsters, Junie decided to run for SK Chairman in his barangay in 2018. His platform of government was youth empowerment through agriculture and sports. During his campaign, he never failed to mention his journey in the 4H Club, the accolades he received as a young farmer, the learnings he gained from ATI’s trainings and the lessons he learned in Japan which he wanted to share to others. Because of his credentials and charisma, Junie won the local election by garnering a clear majority of the votes.

Today, many people are looking up to him for he has proven that a poor, out-of-school youth can be a multi-awarded farmer, a farm manager, a budding entrepreneur, and a young politician. Yet amidst all his accomplishments, Junie remained modest. But having a mind of a Japanese, he is driven to achieve more in life while still young and vibrant. A first place at the National Gawad Saka and a farm tourism site are just some of his next targets in life. With his determination, for sure he will achieve it. Like a rising sun, surely this young man will be a ray of light for the farming sector, not only in Buenavista but in the entire Caraga region someday soon.