Let's Do Our Part to Help the Igorot Farmers

 

Why Igorots in Metro Manila directly source goods from farmers

Two pesos a kilo for cabbage. Four pesos for cucumber.

After spending money to bring their produce to the nearest vegetable trading post in the last week of July, Cordilleran farmers were given a cruel rate, crushing their hope of raising cash to buy seeds for the next harvest.

A Sad Story for New-Gen Farmers

Shereen Umayat and Jessica Dapliyan, two young farmers from Sagada, had a cheaper option for their next maturing vegetables- let the plants rot in the farmland to stop having additional expenses.

Asked how much she has spent for her cucumber, Umayat computed it to be at least P40, 000.

While there are active programs like Sustainable Sagada and Rural Rising organized to help ease the situation, not all produce in the remote Mountain Province town can be accommodated.

Dapliyan, a former innkeeper who shifted to farming following travel bans, started giving away her cabbage produce for free in September after unsuccessful attempts to sell what her family has been working since community quarantine restrictions were implemented. 

SM Foundation in partnership with Belle Corporation and Harbest Agribusiness Corporation gives farming opportunities at Tagaytay Highlands

Harbest Agribusiness Corporation's Mr. Arsenio "Toto" Barcelona partners with SM Foundation

SM Foundation is helping selected communities to build people’s interest in agricultural enterprises. These help generate income, create resilience and empower people to become business leaders in their own communities. In partnership with Belle Corporation and Harbest Agribusiness Corporation, 91 graduating Kabalikat sa Kabuhayan (KSK) farmers proudly showcased the fruits of their labor at the 5,000 square meter open land of Tagaytay Highlands after an intensive 12-week training under the SM Foundation’s Kabalikat sa Kabuhayan (KSK) Farmers Training Program. Dubbed as the Harvest Festival, the farmers gathered their latest crops and celebrate their bountiful harvest with fellow KSK farmers, trainers, project partners along with their benefactors. This is 111st KSK training is done via Belle Kaagapay, Belle Corporation's social responsibility arm. 

Belle Corporation's Vice President for Governance and Corporate Affairs

"This is the first time we've partnered with SM Foundation for their KSK Farmers Training Program," says Michelle Hernandez, Belle Corporation's Vice President for Governance and Corporate Affairs. "We're very excited to move forward with this project as we plan to magnify this by creating livelihood opportunities for our farmers by including them in Tagaytay Highland's the supply chain."

"During each KSK training launch, we tell our farmers that the core of this training is for them to be able to provide food for their family," SM Foundation Assistant Vice President for Livelihood Cristina Angeles said. "After they've fed their families, they can sell the rest of their produce for additional income." 

"What we are providing for these farmers are not simply livelihood or food on the table but opportunities--which they can use to create a better life for themselves."

Local farmers who were part of the SM Foundation's KSK Farmers Training Program