Zamboanga farmers graduated from SM’s Sustainable Agriculture Training

“If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.” This is what SM Foundation (SMFI) believes in as it touches the lives of farmers across the country through its Kabalikat sa Kabuhayan (KSK) on sustainable agriculture program. For SM Foundation, its social good efforts should uplift the lives of its stakeholders, which would later create a ripple effect that would also be beneficial for their communities.

Recent graduates of the KSK program are the 52 rural farmers from Zamboanga City under its Batch 237 (Barangay Mampang) and 238 (Barangay Talabaan). The farmer-graduates underwent a 14-week long agri-training program that taught them basic and advanced farming techniques and agripreneurship.

Together with SM Foundation’s partner school, Casuga Integrated Farm School, various agencies provided extensive trainings to the farmer beneficiaries which were crucial in sustainable agriculture and entrepreneurial mind-setting. Partner agencies include the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) 9, Department of Science and Technology (DOST) 9, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) 9, Department of Agriculture (DA) 9, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) 9, Department of Tourism (DOT) 9, and the City Government of Zamboanga through the Office of the City Agriculturist.

During the graduation ceremony, the local and national agency partners pledged to continue its support, which brought positivity and inspiration to the 52 farmer-graduates.

“We thank SM Foundation for leading this program and for giving us this opportunity which broaden our knowledge in sustainable agriculture and agripreneurship. This also pave the way to many opportunities given to us by the different agencies involved”, said Mr. Fermin Rojas in Chavacano as he shared his thoughts about the program.

Ms. Cristie Angeles, Assistant Vice President for Outreach Programs of SM Foundation also shared that the program will not stop after the graduation. “SM Foundation will work closely with our partner agencies to continuously help our farmer beneficiaries for them to be successful in this field,” she shared.

SM’s Kabalikat Sa Kabuhayan (KSK) aims to bring modern and sustainable farming skills in both rural and urban communities to help farmers have food on their table and have potential economic opportunities. To date, the program has trained more than 28,100 farmers from more than 900 cities/municipalities nationwide.