Every Ending Plants a New Beginning: Global CFaH Philippines Marks Project Culmination and Legacy
From 19 to 21 June 2026, the Global CFaH Philippines team marked an important milestone with the Global CFaH Philippines 2026 Project Culmination at Club Agutaya. The event brought together researchers, university leaders, development partners and project stakeholders to reflect on the achievements of the Philippines setting and the legacy of the Global CFaH project. It was a moment to recognise the work carried out with communities in Palawan, celebrate project milestones and consider how the learning generated through Global CFaH can continue to support food security, nutrition, agroecology and sustainable development beyond the formal project period.
The culmination was honoured by the presence of Western Philippines University President Dr Amabel S. Liao; DOST MIMAROPA Regional Director Dr Bernardo “Aido” N. Sepeda; and Dr Ma. Josefina P. Abilay, the first DOST MIMAROPA Regional Director and a member of the Global CFaH Advisory Committee.
Across the programme, speakers and participants reflected on a central message: research succeeds when it transforms lives, empowers communities and inspires action.
Celebrating the Global CFaH Philippines journey
The culmination event provided an opportunity to look back on the Philippines team’s work across the project period. Through Global CFaH, partners have worked with communities, researchers, institutions and local stakeholders to better understand food systems challenges and support community-based approaches to healthier, more sustainable food futures. The event also highlighted the importance of ensuring that research does not end with data collection, reports or academic outputs. Instead, the value of the work lies in how learning is returned to communities, translated into practical tools and used to inform action.
As the Philippines team reflected, the best projects do not end with a closing programme. They continue in every community they have helped cultivate.
A legacy begins with a single seed
A major legacy milestone during this period was the Global CFaH-Philippines Seed Bank Groundbreaking Ceremony.
The ceremony brought together the Fiji delegation, RIDE personnel and project partners to celebrate an initiative designed to support food security and resilient farming communities for generations to come. Led by VP Omar of RIDE, the WPU Seed Bank will help conserve indigenous and locally adapted seeds, strengthen local access to quality planting materials and reduce dependence on external seed sources. For small island and island-adjacent communities, seed systems are central to food security, climate resilience and local self-reliance. Locally adapted seeds help preserve agricultural knowledge that is rooted in place, while supporting households and communities to continue growing food in changing environmental conditions. The seed bank therefore represents more than a project output but a practical investment in continuity, community resilience and the future of local food systems in Palawan.
Fiji partners join a moment of legacy
The presence of Global CFaH partners from Fiji added another layer of meaning to the culmination and seed bank activities. Their participation formed part of a wider Fiji-Palawan learning exchange, hosted by Western Philippines University, which created opportunities for partners to share experiences across island contexts. By joining the Seed Bank Groundbreaking Ceremony, the Fiji delegation witnessed a concrete example of how Global CFaH’s work in Palawan is being carried forward into practical infrastructure and future-facing community support.
This moment reflected one of the project’s wider lessons: while each setting has its own food systems, cultures and local realities, communities across small island contexts are navigating shared challenges linked to food security, nutrition, climate resilience, livelihoods and environmental sustainability.
From project implementation to lasting impact
As Global CFaH enters its final phase, partners across Fiji, Palawan, St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines are working to consolidate research findings, document learning and share practical tools that can support communities, practitioners, researchers and policymakers beyond the project period. In Palawan, the project culmination and Seed Bank Groundbreaking Ceremony show how this legacy is taking shape. They demonstrate how research can support community action, strengthen local food systems and create resources that remain useful after a project formally comes to a close. Every ending plants a new beginning. For Global CFaH Philippines, the culmination was not only a closing reflection. It was a celebration of the relationships, learning, tools and practical initiatives that will continue to grow from the project’s work.