A daughter of Davao, Nelben Moreno grew up in a farming community and was raised with the values of hard work, perseverance, love of God, friendship, and the importance of education.

She pursued a degree in agriculture and obtained a master’s degree in a premier institution in the Netherlands through a scholarship. Upon coming home, she joined non-profit organization in working with upland farming communities to improve vegetable production. During her work, she noticed that they were focused on increasing productivity but lent very little attention to marketing, which she remedied by persuading management to create a marketing arm.

In 2019, they partnered with the Jollibee Group Foundation under the Farmer Entrepreneurship Program (FEP), enabling Nelben to organize smallholder farmers more effectively.

Last year, when the pandemic hit, Nelben made the courageous choice to quit the non- profit and begin a social enterprise, today known as Green Habits Agri Trading. Through this, she connects farmers to a sustainable supply chain and trains them to become entrepreneurs.

They study the market’s needs and produce crops in demand. Nelben says that she developed this concept from JGF, citing the example of Chowking, which needs assorted vegetables such as cabbage, kangkong, sayote and carrots. Farmers are then asked to produce these at the volume required by their buyers.

Among Nelben’s takeaways in her role as leader are taking risks and building relationships with people for effective collaboration. As part of Green Habits’ work, she has enlisted the help of the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Labor and Employment, Villgro Philippines, and JGF.

While the pandemic continues to present new challenges, Green Habits shows that persistence and an openness to learn is essential not just to survive, but thrive in the new normal.