Agripreneur draws inspiration from SM Group founder

WITH the advent of modern practices, agriculture is undergoing a transformation, emerging as a field ripe with profitability and positive impact.

This was also the hope of visionary and SM Group founder Henry «Tatang» Sy Sr., when he established the SM Foundation Inc. (SMFI) Kabalikat sa Kabuhayan (KSK) on Sustainable Agriculture program in 2007.

Since its inception, the program has been empowering low-income farmers by providing training in modern farming techniques. KSK has equipped nearly 30,000 individuals across the Philippines with the tools and knowledge to improve their livelihoods and foster food security in their communities.

Today, many KSK graduates have found success as agripreneurs, including Virgie Gonda, a KSK Batch 221 alumna from Tarlac City.

She grew up well aware of the struggles of farming, as her father was a farmer.

With years of tilling the same soil, yielding a meager harvest of P10,000 despite tireless sweat, Gonda knew it was time to plant new seeds of hope. She took the opportunity to learn modern farming techniques from KSK with SMFI's partner school St. Isidore and «the FARMer» Learning Center.

Through the 14-week training period, she absorbed everything there is to learn, from farming techniques to the basics of business. Above all, it is the life principles of Henry Sy Sr. that pushed her to go further.

From tending to a small patch of mushrooms, the business flourished, earning for her P30,000 each month. The Farmer's Market Day in SM City Tarlac became the launchpad of her mushroom chicharon, soon expanding her offerings to include banana and kamote chips, and fruit vinegars sold in events, bazaars, and as company giveaways.

With an optimistic outlook, she plans to strengthen her business, creating a ripple effect and uplifting the farmers who once walked her path.