Cherrie D. Atilano, a 32-year old Filipina, empowers women to engage in agriculture. Farming is already part of her life. She was engaged to farming since she was still a child rliving in Negros Occidental and now, she manages her own farm in Marinduque.
As cited in the statement of Cosmpolitan, Cherrie, being the Chief-Executive-Officer of AGREA, a social enterprise, identified the significance of women in participating in agriculute.
“Women have this kind of charm and nurturing attitude that is needed in the agriculture sector, a sector that deals with all living things—from plants, to animals, to consumers. It demands a lot of nurturing spirit to change the narrative of agriculture and turn it into a sector that will make our country progressive”, Cherrie said.
Moreover, she saw that agriculture is being dominated by men. A lot of business men run their businesses which focus mainly in creating profit. She took this as a challenge and turned this into an opportunity. She was able to establish her own social enterprise and keep eye on her goal to make her own business as a role model to every aspiring women advocates.
Respectively, she noted that according to the study of Philippine Rice Research Institute, women that work in agriculture receive lesser wage of almost Php108 a day relative to men yet, both acquire equal work.
Interestingly, she also imparted her new project in Siargao, which aims to make the island as the first women-led agriculture. With her team’s initiative and the partnership made with the local government, the said project can make food efficiently produce and accessible. The imbalance of agriculture production in the island, wherein men do not prioritize farming but they prefer to be habal-habaldrivers, construction workers at hotels, and surfing instructors, among others, is the problem faced by the island due to its booming tourism industry. Thus, she empowers women through encouraging them to engage in farming.
All about Cherrie Atilano
Cherrie’s turning point in life is when her dad left her family at the age of 3. Since her dad was the breadwinner of her family before, her mom was force to work in a sugarcane farm in Silay, Negros Occidental. Cherrie grew up with an environment that is related to farming activities.
At the age of 12, she was able to teach farmers on how to do backyard farming for sufficient food source especially to low income families.
On top of that, as she pursue her passion, she attain her college degree in Bachelor Science in Agribusiness at Visayas State University in Leyte.
Thereafter, she worked at a land development company in Makati yet quit in pursuance of helping the Gawad Kalinga Enchanted Farm, food sufficiency program of Gawad Kalinga. She practiced her expertise in the said farm as an agriculturist in developing the welfare of the families from the slums of Bulacan and Manila.
Most significantly, her passion on creating of AGREA, a social enterprise farm which is found in Marinduque, had inspired a lot of people. Together with her team, they were able to turn Marinduque’s economy which is sustainable and inclusive.
Source:
This Millennial Pinay Is Encouraging More Women To Be Farmers