The Sustainable Farm to Table Programme empowers the Meranaw community through natural farming
December 2019
All smiles after a successful harvest festival. The FFS graduates together with the project partners from WWF, NGCP, EWSC, and LGU Balo-i. Photo © Christian Val Daquipil / WWF-Philippines
BALO-I, Lanao del Norte—Armed with scissors and baskets, Meranaw men and women braved the slippery and muddy paths between vegetable beds with a smile, sweat dripping down their faces as the sun shone brightly one November day in Barangay Pacalundo.
Continuous chatter and laughter provided a welcome background noise to the harvest festival, as the 38 men and women who joined the Sustainable Farm to Table Programme harvested a variety of vegetables grown using Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) and Natural Farming System (NFS).
Jose Angelito Palma, Executive Director of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Philippines, led the harvesting activities from the communal garden. With him were Moncini Hinay, Project Manager of WWF-Philippines’ Sustainable Farm to Table Programme; Michael Sabejon, Corporate Initiative and Advocacy Division (CIAD) Specialist of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP); and Girlie Banaña, Knowledge Transfer Manager of the East-West Seed Company, Inc.
WWF-Philippines Executive Director Jose Angelito Palma leads the harvest festival of the communal farm under The Sustainable Farm to Table Programme in Barangay Pacalundo, Balo-i, Lanao del Norte. Photograph (c) Christian Val Daquipil / WWF-Philippines
“Our goal here is to showcase what a united community can do. Our program empowers the community by providing a solution to the problem of food insecurity and also providing livelihood through gardening and farming,” said Hinay.
WWF-Philippines initiated the program together with the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) and the East-West Seed Company, Inc. to enable communities to become more self-sufficient — even up to the household level — by cultivating idle lands through GAP and NFS and helping develop their agri-business enterprises by linking them to the market.
Very Inspiring
The 38 men and women also received their certificates that day as they formally graduated from the Farmers’ Field School.
“Masaya ako sa araw na ito dahil sa nagawa ninyo (Today, I am very happy because of what you were able to achieve). Just imagine, there were only 20 barangays chosen for this project in the whole Philippines and two are here in Balo-i; in Barangay Pacalundo and Barangay Basagad,” said Municipal Agriculture Officer Rashid Ulama.
The Sustainable Farm to Table Programme is being implemented in 20 barangays all over the Philippines. In Mindanao, the Municipality of Balo-i is hosting two (Pacalundo and Basagad), one in Bacolod, Lanao del Norte; three in the Province of North Cotabato (Matalam, M’lang, and Arakan); one in Zamboanga City; one in Compostela Valley (now renamed Davao de Oro); and one in Davao Occidental.
Garden fresh produce of Pacalundo FFS graduates. Photo: Bong Fabe / WWF-Philippines
In the Visayas, the host provinces are Capiz, Bohol, Samar, Negros Oriental, Cebu, and Leyte, including Ormoc City; while in Luzon, the programme is being implemented in Ilocos Sur and Albay.
The Sustainable Farm to Table Programme started in 2017 and so far, 1,784 community residents have been trained on sustainable vegetable production, benefitting 8,920 household members.
“Papunta palang kami dito ay nararamdaman ko na na masaya kaya maganda ang tubo ng ating mga pananim. At natutuwa kami dahil hindi lang po tayo pumuputol ng bunga, yun hong pinanggalingan ng bunga ay napalago nyo pa. Nakapag-ipon pa kayo (On our way here, I was already feeling the positivity in the air and so I think that’s why we had a good harvest. And we are happy because not only were we able to harvest good vegetables, we were also able to strengthen and improve our resources. You were also able to save),” said Palma.
Palma experienced first-hand how to harvest vegetables with the communities. He was supposed to deliver an inspirational message but as it turned out, he and the entire WWF-Philippines team drew inspiration from the communities instead.
“Kayo ho ang nakapag-inspire sa amin. Nagpapasalamat talaga kami sa inyo. Kung meron man kami makukuha sa inyo, bukod sa inspirasyon, ay ito yung pwede namin kayong ipagmayabang sa ibang lugar para po kayo ay maging modelo (You inspire us. We are so thankful for you. If there is one thing we gained from this experience, aside from the inspiration, it is that we will be able to share your story wtih other communities, and they will look at you as their models),” he said.
WWF-Philippines Executive Director Jose Angelito Palma, together with Pacalundo Brgy. Chairman Hasaroding Doro, East-West Seed Company, Inc. Knowledge Transfer Manager Girlie Banana, and NGCP CIAD Lead Specialist Michael Sabejon during the ceremonial harvesting of crops in the communal farm cum farmer field school (FFS) of Brgy. Pacalundo, Balo-I, Lanao del Norte. Photograph (c) Christian Val Daquipil / WWF-Philippines
Success belongs to the community
NGCP’s Sabejon, for his part, gave all the credit to the men and women who participated in the program for its success.
“Naging successful itong project na ito dahil sa inyo. Kahit na sino pa at gaano pa kadami ang pumupunta dito, kung hindi kayo nagpatulong, hindi natin maaabot itong ginagawa natin ngayon. Congratulations! (This project became successful because of you. Whoever and how many may come here, if you were not willing to learn, we would not be celebrating today. Congratulations!)” he stressed.
Sabejon also urged the farmers to be models in the community, especially to the youth. “Ang mundo natin ay hinihiram lang natin sa mga bata. Huwag ninyo silang unti-unting patayin. Kung pwede lang, huwag na kayo gumamit ng mga kemikal. Kung gumagamit kayo niyan, kayo din ang pumapatay sa sarili ninyong mga anak. (We are just borrowing the world from our children. Let us make sure that we leave them with a better world. As much as possible, avoid using chemicals. If you are using them, know that you are harming your own children),” he said, explaining that chemical-based farming is similar to poisoning the food that we eat. It is also the reason why farmers are always financially constrained.
Like Palma, who urged the farmers to continue cultivating their lands in order to make it more productive for generations to come, Sabejon also urged them to aim for the transformation of the whole Municipality of Balo-i into the vegetable basket of Lanao del Norte, using and implementing what they have learned.
FFS graduates harvesting bell peppers. Photo: Bong Fabe / WWF Philippines
Empowering women
The Sustainable Farm to Table Programme in Balo-i has also allowed Meranaw women to become more productive during their idle time, at least for those who stayed at home, said Edris Mackno, a former broadcaster for the Department of Agriculture’s school-on-the-air.
Of the 38 who are participating in the program, 26 are women and 12 are men.
Bell peppers ready for harvest. Photo © Bong Fabe / WWF-Philippines
“The farm has allowed Meranaw women to become more active in the community, contributing fresh and healthy vegetables, and additional income, to their families,” he said. “Ang kanilang mga asawa, happy na rin dahil hindi na sila mamomroblema sa pagkain nila (Their husbands are also happy because they no longer have to worry about what they should eat),” he added.
Mackno urged the government, through the Department of Agriculture, to adopt The Sustainable Farm to Table Programme to help in addressing the country’s food security thrust.
For more information, please contact:
Mr. Muneer Hinay
Project Manager, Sustainable Farm to Table
mhinay@wwf.org.ph
For media arrangements, please contact:
Ms. Pam Luber
Integrated Communications Manager
pluber@wwf.org.ph
