Food safety, not just security

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

- CHIT U. JUAN

I had the chance to interview a seasoned organic farmer who I first met some years ago and whose business has grown from selling one kilo of vegetables at Arranque Market in 2001 to one million kilos annually in mainstream supermarkets today. Michael or Mike Melendres started Melendres Farms after graduation from UP Los Baños, and started with that one kilo he tried to peddle in Manila's central market. At the time, customers said they had no need for organic vegetables. But Mike persisted and persevered in his venture because he knew about food safety. He knew organic is the only safe way to consume vegetables and fruits.

As his farm grew, demand also increased for organic produce, making him look for other farmers who had the same farm practices. He also taught farmers how to make compost and other techniques to be able to produce organic vegetables profitably. As he was less of a teacher and more of a farmer, he aligned with other experts who formed a service company that teaches farm management, organic and regenerative agriculture. With the added number of farmers learning his organic ways, Mike set up another company to help scale up the distribution of the produce he could now access from other farmers whose practices he could vouch for as truly organic.

As more people became interested in organic farming and landowners approached him to make their real estate productive, this service company trained farmers and landowners in organic production. Earthman, as he calls this group, was tasked with just teaching and training. Mike was slowly creating a vertically-integrated system, from production to training and distribution.