AIS joins TALAB with Panel Discussion entitled “Can you Work Towards the SDGs and Still Make Money?"

Mr. Nonong Velasco, a social entrepreneur, shares his experiences empowering farmers towards sustainable livelihoods. He is the founder of Organic Options, a marketing and distribution company that works to help connect farmers with consumers.

Velasco shared his experiences in the Marketing Industry. He explores how he left his first job to become a businessman and then a BPO Pioneer. After this, he spent time doing social work, exposing himself to agriculture and farming. After learning that 11.5 million Filipino farmers are poor and from older generations and that the local agriculture industry mainly sells produce grown using pesticides, he decided to invest in local farmers to help them sell their organic produce at fair prices.

His award winning company uses an Integrated Organic Farming System (IOFS) that makes sure any byproducts of the farm are used. They also share their practices with other small farms and their bottom line focuses on how many small farmers that they can help. Velasco also shares his other company Alamana Farm Academy, which aims to teach agriculture to young students interested in farming.

Check out his full talk in the video below:

https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=609064046115283&ref=watch_permalink

After the event, AIS launched the 2nd Ateneo Sustainability Report. The report can be found here.