Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. shared his excitement after meeting a 98-year old Palaweño coconut farmer in Malacañang during the memorandum of agreement (MOA) signing for the Kapatid Angat Lahat Agri Program (KALAP) recently.
Marcos, in his own words said that he will ”live by virtue of their hard work,’’ and vows that the Philippine government will ensure that the Filipino farmers will continuously receive support from his administration.
This comes after the president met shortly with Maman Buanoy Layom, a beneficiary of Lionheart Farms Philippines Corporation situated in the town of Jose Rizal in Palawan. Lionheart, which was established in 2017 aims to alleviate the life of local small farmers in the southern part of the province.
Layom was awarded as the oldest farmer in the country during the event.
“I asked him where he was, how he met my father kasi mukhang outstanding farmer na siya noon pa kaya medyo lumabas na. So lumabas na ‘yung pangalan niya. Pero ngayon naging oldest farmer pa siya,” Marcos said.
“He’s a very interesting man. He has stories he could tell. But in the little time we had I think we enjoyed ourselves,” Marcos added.
During his speech, the President said that one day, Filipino farmers will use the best agricultural technologies through the help of the government and the cooperation of nationwide farmers.
“One day we will do this but we need all of you and we need everyone in our society to pull together to be able to do this,” Marcos said.
Through KALAP, medium business owners, including small farmers and fisher folk can alleviate their business operations and potentially receive opportunities to expand it in the future.