To help address the increase in hunger and malnutrition brought about by the continuing health crisis, PLDT and its wireless unit Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) implemented its Plant Smart program to support the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition, which includes increasing food availability and accessibility. In 2021, planting kits were distributed to over 3,000 communities nationwide.
Each planting kit contains vegetable seeds, loam soil, and fertilizers to help families grow their own food at home. In collaboration with the Department of Agriculture – Agricultural Training Institute, Smart also produced the Kalye Mabunga series of how-to videos to guide recipients in starting their edible gardens.
In Quezon City, Smart partnered with a civic organization to encourage home gardening among locals struggling in the pandemic. “Through this program, even homeless persons can start their own vertical or container gardens along unused strips of land or in government-owned lots,” said Ed Billones, Jamboree Community Pantry organizer.
Social Action Commission of the Archdiocese of Palo in Leyte received planting kits to support more farmers. “We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to Smart for assisting those communities that are greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Rev. Fr. Al Cris, Caritas Palo-Social Action Commission.
Meanwhile, the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) councils in General Santos City are using the donated planting kits to expand the city’s sustainable food security program. SK Federation President John Demdam shared, “I would like to thank Smart for all the support extended to the SK Councils. The projects that you have been helping us implement, promote both the mental and physical wellbeing of the people in our city.”
“Plant Smart is our contribution to helping arrest food insecurity, improving nutrition that will boost the immune system to better fight off the virus, uplifting mental health, and providing an alternative or additional source of income especially for those whose livelihood were negatively impacted by the pandemic,” said Stephanie Orlino, Smart AVP and Head of Community Relations.
Farmers from the provinces of Cebu, and Antique, indigenous cultural communities in Cagayan de Oro City, Bukidnon and Misamis Occidental, and households in Zamboanga City and Iligan City have also benefitted from the initiative. Plant Smart is in line with the companies’ commitment to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal #2 of Zero Hunger, by promoting food security and bridging the digital divide in agriculture.