Cebu2World Partners with CitiCore Solar Cebu for Farm To Market Pilot Project in Toledo City

Demonstrating its commitment to ‘Leave no one behind’ with their livelihood projects, Megawide has green-lighted the start of the Farm to Market Project. The goal of the Farm to Market Project is simple: provide livelihood opportunities to communities while introducing new sources of produce to partner vendors.

Partnership

Cebu2World, a child company of Megawide, began the month of March on a positive note. Together with CitiCore Solar Cebu and other project stakeholders, the company signed on March 1, 2022, a Memorandum of Understanding for the Farm-To-Market Pilot project in Toledo City, Cebu.

Present during the signing ceremony were Ms. Maricris Cabalhin, corporate affairs head for CitiCore; Mr. Jason Torres, Megawide VP of Corporate Affairs; and Engr. Rey Matugas, O&M Manager of Citicore Solar Cebu. Also present were Marina Canillo from the Talavera United Farmers Association (TUFA); Brgy. Talavera Captain Edgar Dejito; and Pastor Zosimo Potot of LAMBO Carbon and LAVO Seaside.

In this partnership, CitiCore will make full use of the area by giving the local farmers of Talavera access to plant crops and other produce. Then, C2W, for its part, will partner with Carbon market vendors for livelihood projects. And finally, the vendors of Carbon are assured of a continued supply of fresh produce and produced food products.

Farm to Market Project

The Farm to Market project is a partnership between the two companies and is in cooperation with TUFA and Lambo Carbon. The project aims to complement the current operations of the solar farm with crop production. With the current layout, the project will allow Talavera farmers to plant crops such as turmeric and ginger in areas in between and under the rows of panels. Once the yield is ready, they will then be made available to Carbon market vendors through Lambo Carbon.

While the project aims to maximize the use of the empty plots of land within the area, the goal is to ensure that solar power product remains uninterrupted. For this reason, the crops used in the project will be those that can grow around or underneath the solar panels. It is also important to note that the crops are those that do not grow taller than the panels.

The success of the pilot project will mean great benefits for all stakeholders. For the Talavera United Farmers Association, for example, this could mean a guaranteed market for their produce. For Lambo Carbon, this is an additional source of livelihood. And finally, for CitiCore and Cebu2World, this translates to a stronger relationship with communities where their operations are located.

CitiCore Solar Cebu

The project will have its pilot run in Citicore Solar Cebu in Toledo City. A full hectare will be set aside for the run of the pilot project.

Citicore Solar Cebu is currently the largest solar farm in the country, covering around 73 hectares and with a capacity of 60MWp.

Here are some additional details you might want to know about CitiCore Solar Cebu:

Location: Barangay Talavera, Toledo City, Cebu
Land Area: 73 hectares
Altitude: 48 meters above sea level
Plant Capacity (DC): 60 MWp
Commissioning Date: March 15, 2016 – June 4, 2016

To know more about this partnership and project, be sure to follow the official Facebook page of Megawide and CitiCore Solar Cebu.