SM Foundation’s 39th Kabalikat sa Kabuhayan Farmers’ Training Program has gone to barangay Tigatto, Buhangin District, Davao City.

Farmer participants from barangays Tigatto, Mandog and Waan are currently undergoing hands-on-training and listening to lectures.

SM Foundation Inc. Assistant Vice President for Livelihood and Outreach Program Cristie Angeles led the ceremonial transplanting of seedlings, with Celes AlIa of Harbest Agribusiness Corp., Leonardo Avila of the City Agriculture Office, Enya Celoso of HVCDP-RFU XI and SM City Lanang Assistant Mall Manager Jerome Yoe.

The city government of Davao through Avila thanked SM Foundation for launching the training program in the city. According to him, the program is in line with the city government’s vision of creating farmer-entrepreneurs among its constituents to lessen the presence of middle traders who dictate the prices of agricultural products.

Aside from SM Foundation representatives and city government officials, Edme Pajarito, one of the farmer graduates from batch 15 who graduated in 2009, was present to deliver an inspirational message to the participants. Pajarito said the training he received from SM Foundation’s ‘Kabalikat sa Kabuhayan helped him improve his harvests. Where before he planted only one crop, but with the training he got, he learned to plant various crops simultaneously.

Now, he earns between P300 and P800 a week from his bitter gourds alone. He also plants eggplants, cucumber, pechay, alugbati and saluyot.

Two years after graduation from ‘Kabalikat’, he was able to buy a tricycle for delivery.

Aside from teaching the farmer- participants the rudiments of vegetable farming like land and crop selection, seed sowing, plant nutrition, pest control and farm management, trainees are also taught accounting principles in farming, the importance of records keeping, financial reports, credit facilities available to farmers and marketing their farm produce.