Nestled in the heart of Tagum City, the La Fortuna property, spanning 4.2 hectares, stands as a site for sustainable agriculture and resilient farming practices. Owned by Tagum Cooperative, the La Fortuna property is envisioned as a hub for comprehensive training and development initiatives focused on sustainable food production, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship.
Tagum Cooperative is dedicated to empowering farmers and communities by skilling them through technical training and fostering the next generation of agricultural leaders through targeted youth workshops in agriculture and entrepreneurship.
The inception of this transformative initiative stems from a more profound commitment to addressing crucial concerns in the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Goal 2: “End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture”. As the global population grows, the pressure to ensure food security intensifies. SDG #2 aims to end this issue with a focus on doubling agricultural productivity and incomes, particularly for small-scale farmers, women, indigenous groups, and family farmers by 2030.
To align with this noble objective, Tagum Cooperative started a transformation of its La Fortuna property, preparing it as a Learning Site for Agriculture (LSA) Operator in partnership with the Department of Agriculture. In the broader context, there are only a few LSA operators in Tagum City that have been certified from 2020 to the present.
It will soon serve as a practicum area, designed to complement conventional classroom learning and to offer a hands-on venue for training and extension activities. This learning hub ensures that the knowledge gained finds immediate use in the field of agriculture.
The La Fortuna property is not only confined to members, trainees, and agriculture enthusiasts. It is an open invitation to farmers, rural community members, training participants, agriculture students, and various private entities or individuals. It will function as a work immersion site to ensure that the next generation of agriculturalists and entrepreneurs receive firsthand experiences, instilling in them a deep-rooted understanding of sustainable and resilient practices.
With each seed planted and every lesson shared on the fertile grounds of La Fortuna, Tagum Cooperative reinforces its pledge to be a strong ally of the government in the journey towards a sustainable agricultural landscape. The La Fortuna property represents a brighter, more sustainable future for agriculture, echoing the aspirations of Tagum Cooperative. Yna Gracelle J. Amores