LIKE shelter, food is equally an important need for millions of Filipinos in their quest for a better life. Gawad Kalinga (GK) knows this very well as it vigorously pursues its anti-hunger campaign Goodbye Gutom on YouTube and other venues.

Jonah de Lumen, advocacy director of Bayan-Anihan, said providing shelter and food at the same time ensures that beneficiaries will have a dignified and humane existence.

“GK and Bayan-Anihan aim to make people live on a sustainable basis and have better lives. It’s a fact that houses are tools to community development,” said de Lumen.

“Through Bayan-Anihan, we handle the food development and livelihood aspect of the program. Bayan-Anihan encourages the beneficiaries of GK to be sustainable in their food needs,” added de Lumen.

At present, 40 percent of Filipino families are experiencing hunger, underscoring the crying need for this advocacy.

Just like GK, de Lumen said Bayan-Anihan also emphasizes love for work as a way out of poverty. “GK does not believe in dole-outs because it wants the people to have a high sense of pride and respect in their personality,” said de Lumen.

In the fight against hunger, de Lumen said GK, through Bayan-Anihan, helps beneficiaries by putting up 10-square-meter minifarms to grow organic vegetables. “This is good enough to feed an average-sized family,” said de Lumen.

Bayan-Anihan has partnered with agricultural schools located in the respected communities to teach the GK beneficiaries on the rudiments of basic farming. Espousing sustainability, the beneficiaries are also encouraged to use compost fertilizer for their farming inputs.  

In the future, de Lumen said Bayan -Anihan hopes to scale up the capacity in the future when each family will have a plot for the vegetables.

At present, de Lumen said Bayan-Anihan is “templating” or franchising the model to expand the livelihood program around the country.

In Luzon, Bayan-Anihan is managing 115 farms. For 2009 Bayan-Anihan aims to develop 500 GK farms, aiming to double to 1,000 next year. Moreover, Bayan-Anihan plans to add 1,000 more in 2011. “We plan to target 2,500 farms in three years which will feed 500,000 people for life,” said de Lumen.

For starters, Bayan-Anihan seeks to build 2,500 farms in the next three years. Bayan-Anihan empowers the communities to produce their own food through their own GK farms.

Bayan-Anihan started the project by launching 20 model farms in partnership with major private corporations Selecta, Globe, Shell and Wyeth.

A simple farming model was piloted and was proven to provide sufficient food for the families in GK communities. Based on their interaction with GK beneficiaries, teaching the people to be self-reliant through farming allows them to be more self-sustaining and will ensure that their families will be spared from poverty.

According to de Lumen, forming multisectoral partnerships is also important for Bayan-
Anihan to eradicate hunger in the Philippines. For instance, the Department of Agriculture is a major partner of Bayan-Anihan by being a provider of seeds and farm inputs to jump-start the program.

Meanwhile, the Agricultural Colleges Association of the Philippines joined and committed to assist in the training requirements of the program through its members’ students and faculty. GK volunteers assist the kapitba-hayan (GK residents) in caring for their farms.

“The project director of GK, the kapitbahayan resident, the Bayan-Anihan resident, the municipal agricultural officer and the student are fondly called the power of five for their role in making the farms sustainable,” said de Lumen

As far as the youth is concerned, de Lumen said many fresh graduates also volunteered to join the program. “We are very glad these hunger warriors are joining us in this crusade,” said de Lumen.

The odds in the fight against hunger are huge, according to de Lumen. But people, she stressed, must start from something to confront the problem. “A square meter cannot solve the hunger in the country,” stressed de Lumen.

But de Lumen said Bayan-Anihan will continue the fight. It began the work with small-scale farming, but hopes to scale up by going into integrated and cooperative farming.

As far as the corporate sector is concerned, a donation of P150,000 will go a long way. The amount, according to de Lumen, can help 150 beneficiaries get a better life.