FARMING IS NO JOKE

My wife @plumandrain suggested the other day, I should translate my previous article entitled "Magtanim ay 'di biro." (Farming is no joke), for the benefit of non-Tagalog speaking steemians, so here it is. I think that i would be doing this whenever I post articles in the Tagalog language.

This is the link to the original article:
https://steemit.com/philippines/@irmao.dan/magtanim-ay-di-biro

It is very common for Filipinos, especially those who grew up in the province, to favour eating vegetables. Most of us are happier when we have fresh and nutritious food on our tables. That is why here in the Middle East, even if we are far from our native land, most of the Overseas Filipino Workers living here prepare the same food that they eat at home, so that even for a little, we may relieve the feeling of homesickness that we have.

At the start of 2018, the government of the U.A.E. has started the implementation of the additional 5% Value Added Tax, causing the price increase of products and services, including food like vegetables. In a desert country like here, most of the vegetables that can be bought in the market are exported from other countries which can grow them.

Because of this, some of our countrymen here in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi are planting and growing crops in their own yards so as to save money and be able to eat foods that they can be sure is fresh.

One of the vegetables that you can grow here are eggplants:

We can also grow squash, that we can eat not only the fruit but the flowers that we can pickle and add to other dishes like pakbet.

Other than this, you can also grow chilli peppers, tomatoes, and morning plants.

We can not really measure the ability of the Filipino people. In any circumstance and status in life that we are living in, we are able to make our lives more pleasurable and almost like our homeland. To relieve homesickness, as they say. We are able to find happiness in simple things such as farming.