Seed company helps farmers recover from Yolanda

MANILA, Philippines - It has been a year since Typhoon Yolanda (internationally known as Haiyan) devastated several parts of the country on  Nov. 8 2013. Amidst all the damage and destruction, the Filipino bayanihan spirit never ceased. Governments, the private sector and individuals helped in their own way to contribute to the massive relief effort.

One such intervention from the private sector stands out as a simple, innovative and responsive solution to helping a vital sector that rarely gets the attention it deserves: smallholder farmers. 

Recognizing the need for an immediate response, East-West Seed Philippines launched a livelihood rehabilitation program for farmers in Leyte and Samar by sending its technology transfer team to distribute vegetable seeds  and farm inputs, and conduct trainings on vegetable cultivation. The first team arrived in Tacloban on Dec. 9, 2013, a month after the typhoon struck.

The goal of East-West Seed’s Post-Yolanda Sustainable Livelihoods Recovery Initiative is two-fold: 1) Provide an immediate source of livelihood, and 2) Address the issue of food security and nutrition.

East-West Seed Philippines general manager, Dr. Mary Ann P. Sayoc recalls, “We thought that the biggest help we could extend is to do what our company does best: provide solutions for farmers. Aside from providing a good source of income, vegetable farming addresses the issue of health and nutrition especially for the children of affected families.”

To date, 1,238 farmers from the province of Leyte ( Tacloban City, San Isidro, Capoocan, Kananga, Javier, Leyte, Calubian, Tabango, Villaba, Sta. Fe, Alang-Alang, Palo, Jaro, San Miguel, Julita, Ormoc City, Palompon Barugo, Dagami, Carigara, and La Paz) and Samar (Balangiga & Calbiga) have received the livelihood recovery start-up kits of assorted seeds, fertilizer and cultural management brochures.

More than the distribution of start-up kits, about 3,257 farmers also received training on vegetable production and the judicious use of chemicals. Various techniques and technologies were shared with them in the hope that this would be a permanent source of income for the farming families.

East-West Seed, a key player in the agriculture sector and the leading supplier of vegetable seeds in the Philippines, has partnered with several other like-minded development organizations to successfully accomplish this mission. Listed below are the partners and breakdown of trained farmers:

Daughters of Charity – 42 trained farmers

Catholic Relief Services – 2, 987 trained farmers

Community and Family Services International – 170 trained farmers

YARA, FAO & DAR – 58 trained farmers

Dr. Sayoc adds, “With this livelihood project, we hope to give our affected kababayans a fresh start and a way forward. In over a year, we’ve already reached out to thousands of farmers, but we won’t stop there. East-West Seed Philippines will continue reaching out to farmers until they get back on their feet. It is also very fitting as 2014 has been declared by the UN as the International Year of Family Farms.”

The last two quarters of this year proved to be very productive as East-West Seed Philippines further secured partnerships with like-minded organizations from various sectors. An additional 1,000 farming families in nine inland towns in Leyte are being funded by the Assisi Development Foundation Inc.

Iglesia ni Kristo is also on-board covering an initial 100 farmers in New Era Village in Alang-alang, Leyte, where farmers are set to graduate on the first week of December. An additional 60 farmers from Lawaan, Eastern Samar are now being sponsored through East-West Seed Philippines’ partnership with Task Force Mapalad. Additional funding from Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) has been received for another 100 farmers in Samar and Leyte.

When the government formed the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery (OPARR), East-West Seed Philippines assisted in the Senior Livelihoods Specialist of the USAID Rebuild Project in preparing a module for vegetables livelihood/enterprise development. The kit is now being used by OPARR in soliciting additional support from various local and international development organizations who are willing to help in the post- Yolanda recovery and rehabilitation.

East-West Seed follows through on all of these recovery initiatives by assigning staff to Samar and Leyte.