IN TODAY’S health-conscious market strongly pinned by the Covid-19 pandemic, an up-and-coming food firm in Carmen, Cebu has incorporated healthy ingredients like vegetables and fruits to beloved products like ice cream and milk drinks.

This, as health experts around the globe urge the public to eat food that would boost the immune system.

For 25-year-old Kia Villamor of GKG Farm’s Best, loving agriculture is like loving oneself. She strongly promotes consumption of healthier alternatives, especially during this time of pandemic.

“We want the consumers to know that we sell high quality agricultural products at a very affordable price. We want to be seen as promoters of agriculture in the middle of this pandemic,” she said.

Through their venture in agri-business, Villamor said they were able to help displaced workers land jobs and feed their own families.

“The purpose of our business is to generate more jobs, especially for those who lost theirs during the pandemic,” Villamor told SunStar Cebu, adding that they hired masons for their farm expansions and people from the mountain barangay to plant fruits and vegetables.

“It (the business) generates jobs for farmers, and we are promoting that people should know how to farm, so that they can have free food on their table and generate income as well,” she said.

Villamor said she grew up exposed to the agricultural life since her maternal and paternal ancestors were farmers from Mindanao and poultry owners in northern Cebu.

“My father, after he retired as a seaman, invested all his money and time in agriculture, which I think is the integral part or the basic foundation of why my siblings and I are putting our hearts into agriculture as well,” she said.

GKG Farm’s Best sells planting materials, fruits, vegetables and desserts made from fresh ingredients like pumpkin and dragon fruit, among others.

“The benefits it will give to the consumers are assured since they are provided with organically grown fruits and vegetables, planting materials and healthy desserts,” she said.

Villamor said they are holding off plans for expansion for now as they are still studying how their products are performing in the market. “If given the chance to expand more, we will try also to expand internationally,” she said.