Is it possible to address both hunger and lack of livelihood opportunities at the same time?
Planting for Productivity, a Sustainable Livelihood program implemented by Ayala Foundation, believes so. This one-year program seeks to provide family members training in agriculture and financial literacy as a way not just to provide nutritious food for their household, but also to eventually make a living through home-based or community-based agriculture.
The foundation started Planting for Productivity (P4P) in recognition of the continuing problem of hunger experienced by many Filipino families, as well as the lack of livelihood opportunities. In a recent survey conducted by the Social Weather Station, as many as 2.7 million Filipinos reported experiencing “involuntary hunger”—hunger resulting from lack of food—in the first quarter of 2023. The same survey found that 51 percent of Filipinos rated themselves as “poor.”
P4P works with families from vulnerable communities, and warms them to the idea that they can supplement their family’s diet with fresh vegetables that they themselves can grow. Participating families can also grow vegetables together in a shared space in the community. This way, they can scale up production, and work towards growing surplus vegetables, which they can then sell.
Last year, P4P engaged a total of 325 participants from four communities—Calauan, Laguna; Bago City, Negros Occidental; Cagayan de Oro City; and Quezon City. By December 2022, program participants harvested over 36,000 kg of fresh produce, valued at close to PhP1 million.
This year, the program has been brought to Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro; barangay Payatas in Quezon City; and Pavia, Iloilo.
At the launch of P4P in Pavia, Mayor Luigi Gorriceta thanked Ayala Foundation for choosing the municipality as one of the newest sites for the program, adding that it would empower beneficiaries to become productive and to generate income.
“I am sure this will really help our constituents — another project from Ayala Foundation. As you could remember, we have already benefitted from a lot of their programs, especially during the pandemic.” said Gorriceta.
A total of 50 Pavia residents have been selected for the program, benefitting a total of 500 individuals