The entire training program was comprised of nine modules and four hands-on activities which were collectively conducted by WWF-Philippines, NGCP, and the East-West Seed Foundation. Module topics ranged from sustainable agriculture to container gardening, while hands-on activities ranged from seed sowing to installing plastic mulch and making organic fertilizers. Farmers were also empowered to awaken the plant pathologists in them through modules that focused on assessing plant health and determining diseases and unfriendly insects that may damage their crops. After going through all of the modules and hands-on activities across the three days, a graduation ceremony was held for the trainees, where each of them were given certificates of completions, shirts from NGCP, and household vegetable garden starter kits with seeds from the East-West Seed Foundation. 

Initially, farming communities like the one present in Brgy. Masumbang have practiced monocropping, which has led to smaller incomes due to several external factors, including rapidly changing climate. Moreover, farmers in these communities face challenges such as lack of better production skills, lack of capital and resource generation channels, and big gaps on marketing linkages for their agricultural products. Moncini Hinay, WWF-Philippines’ Project Manager for The Sustainable Farm to Table program, believes that improving household access to vegetables in these communities through technology transfer is one of the most immediate ways the project can help in addressing these challenges. “Under The Sustainable Farm to Table program, we are promoting local food security and implementing sustainable agriculture-based livelihood for the partner farmer clusters in communities like Brgy. Masumbang. We use an agro-enterprise development approach in order to develop an entrepreneurial mindset in our farmer clusters through capacity development interventions in financial literacy, savings mobilization, organizational and enterprise development”,’ says Hinay. “Our goal is to establish sustainable agro-enterprises, or farmer associations, in these clusters that will contribute to the diversification of crop produce and improvements when it comes to productivity and incomes.”