Born in Santiago City, Dante Tobias grew up in a family of farmers. His interest in agriculture started way back during his teenage years, when they moved to Diffun, Quirino and their family started cultivating his grandfather’s land. This fascination blossomed, nurturing him to be the remarkable Farmer-Leader he is today.

After finishing his Bachelor of Science Degree in Agriculture at the Quirino State University, Dante joined a multinational company that focuses on developing agrochemicals. Years later, he decided to pursue his other passion: serving the people.

Dante served as a consultant for institutionalizing and strengthening special projects of the Provincial Government of Quirino for 12 years. During this time, he established a provincial newsletter to disseminate information about the local government’s programs and initiatives, especially in the agriculture and fisheries sector.

In 1997, Dante was elected as a barangay official, leading to his discovery of PCAF’s  Agricultural and Fishery Council (AFC). Given his extensive background in agriculture, he was voted to sit as the Barangay AFC Chairperson in the same year.

Not long after, Dante became Diffun’s Municipal AFC Chairperson and advanced to be the Provincial AFC Chairperson of Quirino in 2003. Under his stellar leadership, Quirino garnered the Gawad Saka Outstanding Provincial AFC Award twice—in 2004 and in 2015.

The national recognition did not stop there. During the first-ever National Agriculture and Fisheries Volunteers’ Day in 2015, Dante was awarded as the Outstanding Provincial AFC Chairperson.

Proving himself as a notable farmer-leader, Dante secured the seat of the Cagayan Valley Regional AFC (RAFC) Chairperson in 2022 and is now in his second consecutive term. One of his roles entails his designation as the Farmer-Director of the Department of Agriculture-Regional Field Office (DA-RFO) II for the whole of May, as part of the Farmers’ and Fisherfolk’s Month celebration.

In time for his second stint as the Farmer-Director, staff from the Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries visited him and some of the Cagayan Valley Region’s Municipal AFCs for the conduct of the Lakbay Panayam. In one of their conversations, Dante shared that he is usually the quiet type, someone who lets his works speak and resonate for themselves.

Dante’s quiet but busy life

Through the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, Dante acquired a hectare of land in Brgy. Maria Clara, Diffun, Quirino. The challenge for him was how to make the land productive enough to support a family.

“Marginal land iyon kasi dating pastureland at mahirap ang production dahil sa soil quality. I was challenged with that small farm kung paano ko gagawing productive to support a family, kaya yung one hectare ay ginawa kong integrated farm,” he explained.

Utilizing this one-hectare land, Dante was able to have an orchard of fruit-bearing trees, rice paddies, vegetable plantations, and ornamental plants. He also installed an artificial lagoon that provides irrigation to his crops and is also used for raising tilapia.

“My advocacy is to promote organic and integrated farming to break the traditional “lean month” of marginalized farmers kasi whole year na silang may income and yun ang importanteng lesson na maibabahagi natin sa mga magsasaka. Naiiwasan din ang mga bisyo kung all-year round ay busy sila,” he shared.

Living alone in his farmhouse for almost 27 years, Dante now devotes his time in giving back to the community. He works as an extension service provider for organic agriculture under the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and the DA-Agricultural Training Institute. In 2018, his farm was accredited by the two agencies as a small-farm learning site.

On top of this and his RAFC Chairperson duties, Dante also serves as a resource person to some schools for their Gulayan sa Paaralan projects.

Dante’s resonating works

When the COVID virus hit last 2020, many people became discouraged. For Dante, it was the opposite: he was motivated to help other farmers amid the pandemic by organizing the Diffun Organic Farmers Agriculture Cooperative (DIOFARMCO). 

Through his initiative, the town’s farmers were able to overcome the high fertilizer costs while the rest of the community was encouraged to utilize their back/front yards with organic farming.

His dedication in uplifting the lives of farmers and fishers as well as in developing the agriculture sector also resulted in the passage of significant policy resolutions. His legacy was the implementation of the Appropriate Soil Conservation Management for Sustainable Corn in Sloping Areas, also known as SCoPSA, through a resolution passed and endorsed by the RAFC of Cagayan Valley to the DA-Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM).

The DA-BSWM adopted the said resolution, and is now being implemented nationwide to help increase farmers’ income by utilizing idle slopes for corn production. An essential provision in the resolution is banning the use of glyphosate or nonselective herbicide, which is harmful to humans.

Dante also led the passing of a resolution for the promotion of local agriculture products. This involves serving farmers’ produce and considering their products as tokens during national and/or local government events.

As an advocate of women’s empowerment and welfare, Dante also endorsed a policy resolution that initiated the conduct of the first-ever Women in Agriculture Congress in Cagayan Valley. In partnership with the DA-RFO II, the RAFC held the Congress last March 30, 2023 to end gender-based discrimination and recognize the contributions of women in the field of agriculture.

Despite all of Dante’s accomplishments, he admitted that there is still a lot to do for the farmers and fishers, not only in Cagayan Valley but also in other parts of the country.

“Ang pangarap ko ay yung totoong umangat ang mga marginal farmers, mabigyan sila ng kaukulang atensyon at suporta ng ating gobyerno. Sila kasi yung napag-iiwanan talaga, despite yung mga madaming programs natin, kasi walang magsakripisyong pumunta sa kanila para mag-cascade ng mga programs,” Tobias said.

Right now, Dante focuses on visiting farmers and fishers in the remote areas of Cagayan Valley to promote organic and integrated farming, including the various DA programs and projects that work towards the attainment of Masaganang Agrikultura, Maunlad na Ekonomiya. | JCL, with selected photos from DA-RFO II and JC