OLONGAPO CITY — A total of 120 residents of this city acquired innovative farming skills they can now use for alternative livelihood after getting hands-on training courtesy of SM Foundation, the social development arm of the SM Group of Companies.

The trainees, who were taught sustainable farming techniques, formally graduated from the course in a ceremony held at SM City Olongapo recently.

Rogelio Panganiban, a heavy equipment operator who was among the 120 trainees comprising Batch 200 of SM Foundation’s Kabalikat sa Kabuhayan (KSK) Farmers’ Training Program, said he learned various ways to farm optimally which he would proudly share with his family and community.

Esmeralda Tombaga, a 55-year old primary school teacher, vowed to share her what she learned from the program to her fellow teachers with the hope that the knowledge can be further passed on to students.

Victor Persius Chan, SM assistant vice president for corporate affairs, explained that SM Foundation’s KSK program aims to inculcate innovative farming methods designed to ensure food for the table and open opportunities for potential business.

The training was very much hands-on, Chan said, with the participants doing actual farm work at a demo farm in the remote Jolo area in Barangay Tabacuhan here.

“Prior to their graduation, farmer-participants harvested their high value vegetable and fruit crops,” Chan said. “They cooked some of their produce for a boodle fight lunch, and brought others home to their respective families.”

Their farm produce included honeydew melon, bottle gourd or upo, sponge gourd or patola, tomato, chilli pepper, okra, cucumber, bitter gourd or ampalaya, string beans, and kangkong.

Chan said that the participants also had the chance to tour the supermarket in SM City Olongapo to better know and appreciate the pricing and quality standards of products on the ground.

“With the sustainable farming techniques instilled in them, the Foundation hopes and encourages the farmers to continue to use this knowledge in order for them to produce high quality harvest not only for their families, but also to become suppliers for SM Markets in the future,” Chan added.

The SM official also said that since its inception in 2007, the KSK Farmers’ Training Program has trained more than 23,000 farmers and still continues to accommodate more both from urban and rural communities.

SM Foundation also conducts other programs focused on providing better access to education, healthcare, shelter, and social inclusion, Chan said.

The Olongapo program was conducted with the cooperation of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Agriculture (DA), Technical Education for Skills and Development Authority (TESDA), City Agriculture Office, and technical partner Harbest Agribusiness. – HENRY EMPEÑO