EPHRATHAH Farms, a brainchild of Eddie Canuto is a thriving resort in Sariri, Badiangan, Iloilo but has become a venue for small vegetable farmers whose produce now occupy the vegetable section of SM Supermarket and Hypermarket in Iloilo.
The farm located on a piece of land acquired by him once belonged to his grandfather. A successful civil engineer, Canuto ventured into farming to help fund a camp for the Sariri Baptist Church Youth. The venture was not as successful as he had hoped.
Opting for an early retirement, Canuto decided to concentrate on farming that brought into fruition Ephrathah Farms, the first farm resort in Iloilo where guests can tour around the property and buy chemical-free vegetables, farm products, seeds and other related products.
That the farm produces quality chemical-free vegetables is not surprising. Having been the site of SM Foundation’s KabalikatsaKabuhayan Farmers’ Training in the summer of 2015, the participants were given lessons on how to grow high value vegetables without using pesticides aside from seed and soil preparation. Participants were from the towns of Badiangan, Januiay, Mina, Pototan, Lambunao, Barotac Nuevo and Sta. Barbara–all in Iloilo.
Incidentally, the KabalikatsaKabuhayan Farmers’ Training Program was launched in 2007 in Negros Occidental, another province in the Visayas. Unlike other training programs, the KSK also teaches the participants how to sell their produce to a bigger market. Farmers are not limited to town markets nor to neighbors wanting to purchase their crops. SM Foundation encourages the farmers to look for other buyers to make the program sustainable.
Canuto who possesses a good business sense has enjoined the farmers to sell to buyers who can give them reasonable price for their harvests thereby helping them uplift their lives. From the 2015 Badiangan KSK graduates, 17 farmers are now regular suppliers of SM Supermarket and Hypermart through Ephrathah Farms. And as SM Foundation continues to conduct more farmers training programs, their number is growing.
