IDEALS - Project GROW Project Title: Project GROW (Guidance for Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries on Organic Farming and Sustainable Ways of Working)

The project aims to develop the capacities of farmers in Davao de Oro, specifically elderly Agrarian Reform Beneficiary (ARB) members of the Nueva Visayas Agrarian Reform Cooperative (NUVIARCO), to effectively set up and sustain an organic farm that will be profitable and safe for aging ARBs with health concerns due to their advanced age. Conventional methods of monocrop farming deplete nutrients inthe soil and expose workers to harsh chemicals. In meetings and needsassessments, NUVIARCO farmers expressed their need for technical support to strengthen their capacity to improve their farmproductivity and efficiency. The farmers’ cooperative also presentedcommunity maps that demonstrated their plan to convert theirconsolidated farm into an organic farm, which they need funding tostart. GROW was conceptualized to help these farmers, many ofwhom are aging ARBs, develop the necessarybusiness andtechnical skills to run viable organic farms. Land owned by theNUVIARCO farmers was once leased by multinational exporterMarsman. The farmers were hired as workers until the exporterpulled out in 2017 leaving the farmers with few resources. Becausethey were employees, they were not included in managementdiscussions. Member farmers (some of whom are already venturinginto organic farming) lack the skills and competenciesto managetheir farm despite their knowledge on the practical application offarming. This can make them susceptible to disadvantageouscontracts and business transactions. This project serves as thepractical application of a 2019 feasibility study by IDEALS, DonBosco Foundation, Interfacing Development Interventions forSustainability (IDIS), Inc., Foundation for Agrarian ReformCooperatives in Mindanao Inc. (FARMCOOP) and NUVIARCO. Thestudy found that in order to develop the 132-hectare organic multi-crop farm within five years, PHP 235.4 million is required for overallcosts––including capital. Project GROW will help walk thesefarmers through the processof starting an organic farm, focusing onhands-on and practical application of skills through active learningin a training farm thatwill simulate having their own organic farm. Itis innovative in its attempt to help long-time conventional farmerstransition to a profitable organic farming model––a safer, and moreenvironmentally-friendly form of farming and sustainable businessmodel––which is far different from the dominant type offarming inDavao de Oro’s factory-like banana plantations. It will also helpimprove economic gains for farmers by reducing agricultural wasteand farm input expenses. To accomplish this, IDEALS andNUVIARCO seek to help ARBs acquire essential knowledge, skills,and techniques to help them transition from farm-worker mentalityto businesspeople who can sustain their cooperative and practicesustainable farming and environmental management. An organic,environment-friendly training farm managedby FARMCOOP will becritical in ensuring that ARBs gain hands-on and practical skills andexperience. In the long-term the training farm can be developed intoan eco-tourism hub, offering paid workshops which will promoteorganic farming and generate additional income for the ARBs.