Farmers’ Multi-Purpose Hall Blessed In Bacolod
A multi-purpose hall for farmers was recently, inaugurated in Brgy. Handumanan, Bacolod City by officials of SM Foundation and the Negros Economic Development Foundation.
The SM-NEDF Multi-purpose Hall will serve as a training center for. the Kabalikat sa Kabuhayan Farmers’ Training Program spearheaded by the SM Foundation and collaborating partners. The concrete structure complete, with toilet facilities, was made possible through the efforts of SM Foundation.
The Farmers’ Training Program was initiated by SM Foundation and its first training program was, conducted in Bacolod City in collaboration with NEDF and Harbest Agribusiness Corporation headed by Toto Barcelona.
Under the program, farmers are trained on the year-round production of high-value crops, including various vegetables like lettuce, eggplant, tomatoes, cucumber, squash, pepper, patola, upo, beans, ampalaya, melons, sweet corn, papaya and others.
The farmer graduates of the program in Bacolod and adjoining towns have formed a farmers’ cooperative to promote self-reliance and economic development. With the attainment of self-reliance, the farmers’ cooperative in Bacolod is now standing on its own. Farmers’ training is now being conducted by the cooperative in partnership with Harbest Agribusiness Corporation and the Negros Economic Development Foundation.
The partnership goes beyond farmers’ training on the latest agricultural technologies for better and increased harvest. Lectures on entrepreneurship are also conducted to assist the farmers who want to put up their own businesses.
The farmers are also provided with marketing support to enable them to sell their produce at the most reasonable prices, thus improving their incomes.
Similar training programs have been undertaken in places where provincial branches of SM are located. These include Rosales, Pangasinan; Cabuyao, Laguna; Tanza, Cavite; Davao City; San Fernando, Pampanga and others.
At graduation time, a harvest festival is usually held where the harvests are displayed and offered for sale. Some farmers are encouraged to produce high-quality harvests so that they could meet the standards required by commercial buyers like the supermarkets.
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