Kalipayan Farm, Alfonso Women’s Council, and SEARCA collaborates
Philippines, Kalipayan Farm a social enterprise offering farm-to-fork solutions through farm input, fresh and processed goods, farm development consultancy, and education and wellness programs. Through these programs, the farm aims to develop family farm communities. They have worked with communities in Bulacan, Leyte, and Laguna in the Philippines; and are now actively supporting Alfonso, Cavite, Philippines, particularly its women’s council, through the Tanim Farm program.
The Tanim Farm program aims to integrate academe, government, and private sectors’ technical knowledge and experiences on sustainable farming to document and impart best practices with beginning small family farm agripreneurs, particularly the farm wives of Alfonso.
The program’s conceptual framework, existing collaborators, and activities, such as developing a hands-on integrated and diversified natural farming (INDF) training tailored to the needs of the family farm agripreneurs and crafting a sustainability plan to conduct this training through an e-learning modality. The program also provides on-the-job training opportunities to capacitate the youths’ knowledge, skills, and attitude on INDF and agripreneurship.
Since the Tanim Farm program also promotes youth in agripreneurship, Ms. Sharon Malaiba, unit head, Partnerships, highlighted SEARCA’s joint activities with the Dagatan Family Farm School and Balete Family Farm School. She also mentioned the newly inked agreement between SEARCA and East-West Seed Philippines on a youth capacity building bootcamp. Moreover, she added that the Center also delves into incorporating robotics to entice the youth into agriculture.
Nikole Kazemi, founder of the Kalipayan Farm; Chairperson Len Maraan Reyes and board members Ms. Florinda Martal and Ms. Arceli Del Mundo, all of Alfonso Women’s Council; and Ms. Deinielle Ramos, an intern at the Kalipayan Farm, visited the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) on 11 August 2023 to explore possible partnership on their joint initiative Tanim Farm program. Also with them was Dr. Andrew Gasmen of the University of the Philippines Los Baños College of Agriculture and Food Science-Agricultural Systems Institute, also a prospective partner.
