By: ADELA GARAPAN IDA
Monsanto Philippines with the collaboration of the University of the Philippiness League of Agricultural Biotechnology Students (UP-LABS) had performed an on-stage play with the title “Lina’s Town Rises Again.” The 50 students that performed the play and the teachers that attended this event came from Alabang Elementary School. The venue was held at the 23rd Flr. Bulwagang Haribon, Insular Life Corporate Center, Muntinlupa City.
The “Lina Town Rises Again” is a true story of a young lass hailed in Sultan Kudarat, Mindanao. Her family was engaged in farming. Her father worked and till their land to plant some vegetables and crops for their food consumption and for livelihood as well. However, despite the hardworks of his father when harvest time comes the harvest that they had was not good that even for their food consumption was not enough. Lina wondered and kept nagging her mother why this happened.
Again, a typhoon hit their place that caused flooding in the area. Their house were destroyed and same with their farms. The Local Government Unit (LGU) helped them and put them in an evacuation center that housed them for a while. When the typhoon stop and the flood subsided they went back to their place and start a new life again. The borrowed money in order to re-build their house and cope with their daily needs. Until one day to their surprise her aunt visited them and gave some goods and even cash. Likwise her aunt informed them that they have a friend who taught them to plant corn but they had attended seminars in order to learn knowledge about BIOTECHNOLOGY CORN called DEKALB,
Lina’s parents applied the knowledge that the learned about DEKALB so they began to plant corn using the new technology. To their surprise, when the harvest time came, they have abundant harvest and that s were their FORTUNE began, their lifestyle completely change that they become prosperous.
Monsanto Philippines with its Corporate Engagement Lead Charina Garrido Ocampo initiated this activity in order to open the minds of the youth and challenge them the importance of Agriculture in our society. We cannot ignore the fact that everyday agriculture sits in in our daily existence because the food that we have in our table comes from agriculture. How can we meet the demand of food supply with its tremendous increase of population throughout the world. We can only attain this unless our government and its partner in the private sector like the initiatives of MONSANTO Philippines would take actions to maintain the sufficiency and food security not only in our country but to the other parts of the world as well.
Monsanto challenge and encourage our youth today in anticipation for a sustainable agriculture in the next generation. They have exerted efforts and innovations to promote agriculture in the mindset of the youth that they should take agriculture as a profession. That’s why they were able to penetrate in some schools in Quezon City, Ilo-Ilo, Davao and some parts of Mindanao
During the Presscon Monsanto Corporate Lead. Ms Chat Ocampo introduced MS. RACHEL LOMIBAO as Monsanto Commercial Lead for the Philippines.
She is a graduate of degree in B.S. Communication at the University of the Philippines and have a Masteral Degree in Business Administration in the Ateneo Graduate School.
Miss Lomibao is the first Filipina woman appointed Leader in Agricultural Biotechnology. With her strong leadership skills and business technical skills she capable of achieving the highest level of excellence MONSANTO entrusted to her. #
