Food Safety and Shelf Life Training: Empowering Farmers to Develop their Products

It was a warm bright Sunday when kabog millet farmers in Cebu gathered to eagerly learn about food safety and shelf life analysis. The event was organised by the Communities for Alternative Food Ecosystems Initiative (CAFEi) (through Ms. Teresa D. Ruelas) and the lecture modules were prepared by Ms. Krysthal Vasallo, a food science and agribusiness consultant, who also conducted the workshop. In total, there were 18 farmers, more than half of them were women. Most of the farmers who attended the lectures are between 46 and 60 years old, while only two participants are younger than 30 years old. This could reflect a lack of engagement in farming among young people. Perhaps, expanding the work beyond farming of kabog millet grains to include value-adding food processing and cooking of kabog will increase the interest among the younger generation to work with their elders on growing kabog millet farming into a vibrant industry.

A Full Day of Activities and Learning Exercises

The training lasted for 4 hours and the participants were able to listen and learn about the importance of food safety and shelf life as farmers and food processors. The participants were also given activities to practice and apply their newly acquired knowledge and skills. The goal was that they will be able to use the acquired skills in their respective businesses. The activities included giving the participants possible scenarios related to food safety issues they may encounter in kabog millet farming and processing. They were encouraged to provide solutions to address the issues based on the new knowledge and skills that they have learnt through the workshop. During the workshop, the participants were also given the opportunity to create their own shelf-life study plan for their commodities and food products.

The day was a success and we received very positive feedback! The farmers were engaged and enthusiastically participated in the lectures and group activities. When asked how the training could help in their food business and farming, the farmers replied that the course was able to provide them knowledge on food testing and on how to take good care of food products and harvested crops. They also learnt how to ensure that food products to be sold in the market are safe. In addition, they were trained on how to estimate how much products to produce to avoid losses and how to store food products to keep consumers safe and healthy. They realized that strictly following food safety processes will result to less food waste and improved profitability.

After the Food Safety and Shelf-life Training course (Photo: Teresa D. Ruelas)

We also asked them how they will use what they have learnt during the workshop, and some of their responses were: they will inform others how to keep food products safe to avoid consumers from possible hazards, teach other farmers how to implement organic farming to achieve safe products, and one wrote: “I will share what I have learnt, and encourage my fellowmen to fight for what is right, and help them hand in hand.” All the farmer participants emphatically said “Yes” when asked if they want to help other farmers and food businesses by sharing what they learnt during the workshop. In addition, they are eager to learn more about food packaging and what new materials are used in the market. They hope that yearly training and workshops could be provided to cater to new and old business players and to increase their awareness of and update them about food safety. The farmers also want support with promotion of their products and help with establishing collaborations with food processors. They are very grateful for the training, and they hope that this initial project with them will be the start of a long-term commitment to revitalise ancient crops into food products in the market.

Lunch prepared for the participants of the training course using heritage crops: organic cranberry juice… (Photo: Teresa D. Ruelas)

…adlai porridge, kabog millet noodles, and cassava chips (Photo: Teresa D. Ruelas)

Future Market for Heritage Crops

Currently we are looking into developing “ready-to-eat” food products with the kabog millet farmers. Now that many urban dwellers have become busy with work and have less time to cook nutritious food for themselves and their families, we thought that kabog-based “ready-to-eat” food will be a healthy food option for consumers and a good source of income for the farmers. Some of the farmers who participated in the course are innovative and creative in making kabog millet foods. We hope that this training will ensure clean, quality, and nutritious food in the market. Future training programs include food packaging using eco-friendly processes and materials, increasing shelf-life of food while maintaining its nutritional content, and production planning and marketing to fulfil increasing demands of the kabog millet. We hope to find collaborators to deliver these programs to the farmers in the near future.

Blog post written in collaboration with Teresa D. Ruelas and Krysthal Vasallo.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Joan Oñate Narciso is a current Future Food Fellow at the Laboratory of Food Biochemistry, ETH Zürich. She studied plant biology for her PhD, focusing on plant cell walls, which led to her desire to work in Food Biochemistry. Coming from the Philippines and with grandparents who worked in and owned farms back home; agriculture, food systems, and the lives of farmers have always been her personal interest and passion. She hopes to raise awareness of the situation of small-scale farmers and their communities through her science and her writing.

We are very grateful for the support of the World Food System Center at ETH Zürich and the Future Food Fellowship. This training was funded through the WFSC poster prize money, which was awarded to me for the best poster in my category during the WFSC Research Symposium 2020. Without their continuous and kind assistance and collaboration, we would not have been able to accomplish this training. In addition, it inspires us to revolutionise the food system in the Philippines – starting with our farmers and their communities – so that we could help address the challenges of food security, safety and sovereignty, and plant biodiversity conservation. We start with little steps that are helpful and consistent, and we hope we will be able to see our farmers more empowered and their incomes and their enterprises more sustainable.