More than 220 farmer-trainees of the SM Foundation’s Kabalikat Sa Kabuhayan (KSK) Farmers’ Training Program – Batch 216 recently capped off the twelve-week training program with a bountiful harvest festival and a graduation ceremony on December 17 and 18, respectively, in Pampanga.
Through this program, farmers were equipped with knowledge on sustainable farming technologies to help them bring food on their table and create economic opportunities for them and their families.
Unlike the previous batches, the Batch 216 was divided into six sites–one of which was a regular KSK training site (San Isidro, Sta. Ana, Pampanga); four sites for TESDA-Organic Agriculture Production NC II (Sto. Rosario in Sta. Ana, Brgy. Anon in Floridablanca, and Sitio Pidpid and Brgy. Sapang Uwak in Porac, Pampanga); and one site for TESDA-Agri-Crop Production NC III (Bamban, Tarlac).
One of the KSK farmer-graduates happily harvesting his crops
Harvest Festival of Kabalikat Sa Kabuhayan (KSK) Farmers’ Training Program – Batch 216 in Sta. Ana, Pampanga
To date, 24 trainees from Sitio Pidpid and 22 trainees from Brgy. Anon have already passed TESDA’s assessment for Organic Agriculture Production NCII. Trainees from other sites are yet to take TESDA’s assessment.
Launched at the St. Isidore “The Farmer” Learning Center, Inc. in Sta. Ana, Pampanga last September 17, 2019, this batch was the first product of the collaboration between SM Foundation, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Department of Tourism (DOT), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Pampanga State Agricultural University (PSAU), St. Isidore “The Farmer” Learning Center Inc., SM Supermalls, and SM Markets.
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.