Dinalupihan, Bataan—Fueled by her passion for farming, Ivy de Guzman joined the Batch 219 of the SM Foundation’s Kabalikat Sa Kabuhayan (KSK) program in this town.
Ivy stated that knowledge gained from the program proved to be useful during the COVID-19 pandemic.
When the lockdown was enforced, she and her batchmates were confident that they could produce their own food.
"Napakalaking bagay po ng mga natutunan namin sa KSK lalo na ngayon sa panahon ng COVID-19 pandemic. Ginamit namin ang mga natutunan naming sa KSK upang magkaroon ng pagkukunan ng aming makakain sa gitna ng pandemya. Bukod dito, naging mas maganda at maayos ang aming mga ani,” Ivy said.
They were able to sell their produce at farm gate prices to the local government, which in turn distributed it as relief goods to their constituents. Not only was her KSK batch able to provide food security for themselves and their families, they were also able to contribute to the food security of their community.
As the current President of the Barangay Pita Farmers Association, Ivy also shares the knowledge and resources from the program with the rest of her community in Dinalupihan.
She stressed that it is important that they too should understand the scientific way of planting and preparing the soil, know how to produce DIY organic fertilizers and pesticides, and irrigate and house their crops properly.
Batch 219 of SM Foundation’s KSK program was supposed to have their graduation and harvest festival in mid-May, but due to the coronavirus lockdown, these activities are currently on hold.