UNVEILING THE UNTOLD STORIES OF THE BANANA LOCAL FARMERS AMID THE TIME OF PANDEMIC: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative study in a phenomenological approach was to unveil the untold stories of the diverse banana local farmers amid COVID-19 pandemic in Kapalong, Davao del Norte. It aimed to find out the reason why they got involved in that situation, the challenges they had experienced, how they coped with these challenges and their insights regarding their immense situations. The participants of the study were the fourteen (14) banana local farmers in Kapalong, Davao del Norte, Philippines. The data collection methods used and employed in the study were in-depth interview and focus group discussion. By which, after collecting data, it was gathered and found that the participants have experienced difficulties in banana farming during pandemic time such as dealing with agricultural input prices, dealing with travel restrictions, problems on banana packing due to curfew hours and dealing with problems on Fusarium wilt. The findings also revealed that banana local farmers amidst COVID-19 pandemic were maintaining optimism, drawing strength from ones family and starting early the banana packing process. Finally, the different insights of banana local farmers amidst COVID-19 pandemic were revealed such as lack of government support to farmers, staying disciplined at work, importance of financial literacy during this time and importance of hard work in these trying times. KEYWORDS: Banana local farmers, COVID-19 pandemic, qualitative study, phenomenology, Philippines.