A total of 100 farmers from the province of Bataan representing the 218th batch of SM Foundation’s Kabalikat Sa Kabuhayan (KSK) on Sustainable Agriculture Program (SAP) graduated recently.
Graduation rites were held at the Bulwagan ng Bayan, Dinalupihan Bataan.
The 100 graduates of KSK completed the training through the collaborative efforts of SM Foundation, Inc, the local government of Dinalupihan Bataan, Department of Agriculture, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Municipal Social Welfare and Development (MSWD), DPlanners Farm School, St. Isidore Learning Center, Department of Tourism, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), SM Markets and SM Supermalls.
During the welcome ceremony of the KSK participants, Dinalupihan Mayor Angela Gila Garcia said in her speech that “Dinalupihan is more of an agricultural and not an industrial town so the need to raise the quality of life in agriculture is part of our vision of turning the town a model agropolis, a community that will focus on agriculture , food , biodiversity and environment.”
KSK-SAP is a holistic training program designed to prepare the farmer-participants to be productive and effective farmer-entrepreneurs for agriculture sustainability and food security through the convergence of SM Foundation, Inc. and its partners.
The graduate participants were given corresponding Certificates of Competency or National Certification if they achieved the required units of competency under TESDA’s prevailing rules and regulations.
Another batch of farmers in Morong, Bataan are currently undergoing training for Batch 218 A-D. (Mhike Cigaral and Dante Salvana)