On December 12 to 15, SIFI held its 2nd Livelihood Expo at the Fiesta Market Area of Ayala Malls Capitol Central, Bacolod City. This effort and assistance by SIFI aims to strengthen the sugar farmers’ self-reliance and sustainability in their businesses.
Seven (7) assisted groups were able to showcase their various food products;1) CASA Agrarian Reform Cooperative (CASA ARC)from Talisay City, 2) CASAL-AGAN Agrarian Reform Cooperative (CASAL-AGAN ARC) from Pontevedra, 3) ESTELA Agrarian Reform Cooperative (ESTELA ARC)from La Carlota City, 4) Hda Esperanza Communal ARB Association (HECARBA) from La Carlota City, 5) MINURO Agrarian Reform Cooperative (MINURO ARC) from Victorias City, 6) VISCAYA Agrarian Reform Cooperative (VARC) from Pontevedra, 7) and R.A. Golez Agrarian Reform Cooperative (RAGARC) from Silay City.
Freshly baked breads and pastries, banana chips and strips, pickled vegetables and quail eggs, fruit jams and jellies, and peanut products were displayed and sold to shoppers and walk-in customers.
The Philippine Sugar Research Institute (PHILSURIN) also displayed varieties of sugarcane and a sample of their sugarcane breeding process.
SIFI’s Board of Trustees and Officers, headed by Ms. Edith Villanueva, President & COO, visited the site, interviewed the planter entrepreneurs and purchased their products for sampling and evaluation.
The four days event was indeed successful gauging from the amount of products sold, giving each group the determination to strive more for their dreams to be a well-known and profitable enterprise in the future.
