Philippines: Urban farmer teaches fellow youth how to produce food on TikTok
“I started making videos on TikTok kasi (because) I have this passion to teach people that they can actually grow their own food at home even with small spaces.”
By Syrah Vivien J. Inocencio,
CNN Philippines
May 1
Excerpt:
In a country where agriculture is known to be concentrated in rural areas, a 21-year-old farmer is trying to change that narrative by teaching fellow young Filipinos about urban gardening through what might be the best platform to reach them: TikTok.
Bea Suavengco, also known as “Urban Farmer TV” on TikTok, is an agriculture student specializing in crop production at the University of the Philippines Los Baños.
During her free time, she posts videos about hydroponic farming on the social media platform where she has now garnered more than 72,000 followers and at least 773,000 likes.
“I wanted to show people, especially the youth, that agriculture is not about tilling the land, but agriculture now is using modern technologies to produce food,” Suavengco said.
When lockdowns were first imposed during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the national food supply was among the top concerns of the country, especially delivering food to urban areas amid strict restrictions.
Agriculture Secretary William Dar said they were worried about food security in urban areas dependent on food produced in the countryside. “With the supply chain disruptions, urban areas with sparse lands used for agriculture were menaced by the rising costs of food.”
