From the Editor

As 2021 draws to a close with the Covid-19 pandemic still raging, we are constantly reminded of the importance of food security, as well as the fragility of the current food system. Food hero "Garden Gangsta" Ron Finely, who grew a food garden outside his home in Los Angeles, California, much to the initial chagrin of the city government, has been quoted saying, "Gardening is the most therapeutic and defiant act you can do, especially in the city.... " In the Philippines, an agricultural country where a majority of the farmers cannot even afford to feed themselves, farming has become a defiant act even outside urban areas as more and more people realize the importance of securing their future in terms of sustenance. We hope you enjoy this issue, which features individuals who have turned to farming, first as a means of stress relief or to augment their food supply, but who later realized that they could make money off it as well. I'd like to take this opportunity to wish you a blessed, joyful, and peaceful holiday season and a bountiful and prosperous 2022. May the next year be better and brighter for all of us. Yours, YVETTE Editor- in- Chief