To mitigate the expenses for food consumption, Filipino households are encourage to engage in family farming.
Family farming enable individuals to learn in cultivating their own food to avoid hunger.
“Let us make the nation realize what they can have from family farming, it adds to family resilience, and contributes to national security,” Venarica Papa, Assistant Professor of the College of Social Work and Community Development at the University of the Philippines-Diliman, said in a three-day forum dubbed “Knowledge Learning Market and Policy Engagement” (KLMPE) in Quezon City.
Based on the report from Philippine News Agency (PNA), Filipino families can endure the increasing food prices and increase their savings when they engage in growing their food.
“The Department of Agriculture (DA) hosted KLMPE 2019, which aims to enhance the awareness of farmers and other people who thrive in the field of agriculture through networking with experts and successful entrepreneurs,” report stated.
A story of Family Farming
Jumer Bueno Marcaida , 27 years old, became a full-time farmer in 2017.
His father toil a 0.6-hectare land while the other members of the family plant the crops which they usually consume.
As time goes by, Mr. Jumer assessed that their budget for food is declining. Respectively, due to surplus of crops, they turned their family farming into a business.
“My sister, who has a family of her own now, would provide for the financial needs on the farm, and she will have her sacks of rice. Obviously, rice is expensive, so, having our own resource of rice, the family really saved a lot, ” he imparted.
Apart from white rice, their family also ventured in producing black glutinous rice.
Jumer was an electrician before but decided to shift into farming.
In his journey, farmers’ organization helped him to learn farming.
Currently, Jumer is a member of PAKISAMA, farmer’s cooperative, where members are being provided with financial assistance.
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