(Photo by Ernie Esconde)
BALANGA CITY — SM Foundation and farmers on Thursday held a harvest and cooking festival to showcase the vegetables and other crops raised in a demonstration farm here.
Farmer leader Arthur Olivera said they started their training program under SM Foundation’s Kabalikat sa Kabuhayan and planted sili, talong, okra, kamatis, kangkong, upo, patola, kalabasa, ampalaya, honeydew, melon and pakwan last March 1, 2019.
“Ang nag-provide ng binhi ng gulay ay ang SM Foundation sa tulong ng Harbest Agribusiness Corp. Ang mga magsasaka ay nag-aral ng tatlong buwan sa tamang pagsasaka at gagayahin namin ito sa aming mismong taniman,” he said.
Olivera said they belong to five groups of 118 farmers under the Kaanib Program of Balanga City who trained at the one-hectare farm in Barangay Tuyo.
He said they also held the cooking festival to taste the crops they planted and harvested. Prepared were pakbet, bola-bola, kare-kareng gulay, adobong gata and chicken with tanglad sa buho.
“Ang Kabalikat sa Kabuhayan ay malaking tulong sa ating magsasaka upang magkaroon ng malaking produksyon ng gulay at iba’t ibang uri ng crops kasi sa pagsisimula ng pagtatanim hanggang sa pagbebenta ay tutulong ang aming kapartner na SM Foundation,” city agriculturist Nerissa Mateo said.
She noted that SM Foundation shared a big budget for the project like farm inputs and the training program.
According to her, the city government wanted the farmers to practice what they learned not only for a day but for their entire farming career.
“Napakamatagumpay ng programa. From zero income ng magsasaka, umani sila ng marami at ngayon ay ibinebenta na nila,” Mateo said, advising the farmers “yakapin natin ang programang ibinababa ng pamahalaang lungsod sapagka’t ito ay para sa inyong kapakanan.”
