LUCENA CITY – Team Energy Foundation Inc. (TEFI) and stakeholders in the government have teamed up to construct a 500-square meter solar slab dryer for rice and corn farmers in Barangay Mayao Silangan here.
"We realize that the growth of Philippine agriculture is closely tied to the country's development. Team Energy is glad to have been given the opportunity to undertake modest community projects that support the growth of agriculture and ultimately improve lives," Froilan Gregory Romualdez III, head of external affairs of Team Energy, said Thursday, Aug. 25.
Romualdez added that they completed an irrigation line canal in Barangay Binahaan in Pagbilao, Quezon that will help rice farmers in the area water their crops.
Romualdez said that in General Nakar, Quezon, it implemented a program that educated and trained members of the indigenous Dumagat tribe to plan, process, and market various native products such as guyabano tea, powdered turmeric, lagundi, and honey.
He bared that a livelihood center was built where members of the community can study and develop various native products they can sell and market to local and foreign tourists.
Fisherfolk in Barangay Bantique in Pagbilao from the Samahan ng Yamang Dagat received from the foundation fishing nets and materials to build fishing boats and various fishing equipment.
Equipment for oyster farming provided support to the group in maintaining a brooding pen for female crabs.
An aquaculture project in Padre Burgos, Quezon was established for local fisherfolk.
Romualdez said that they provided 113 heads of cattle to augment the local government dispersal program and help residents have a sustainable income source through livestock breeding and farming.
"Clearly, the power firm's agriculture-related Corporate Social Responsibility programs aim to boost farms production and increase the income of agriculture workers in the Philippines. This is the kind of private sector support the government will need to ensure the sustainable growth and global competitiveness of our agriculture."