The Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Jollibee Group Foundation (JGF) signed on Monday a memorandum of agreement aimed at enhancing farmers and fisherfolk access to markets to increase their income.
Under the partnership, farmers and fisherfolk will directly supply Jollibee Group’s requirements for its food business.
“As a food company needing fresh produce for our meal offerings, helping farmers organize themselves to directly supply Jollibee seem the most relevant and meaningful way by which we can help our farmers,” said Ma. Gisela Tiongson, JGF president and executive director, at the signing ceremony.
Tiongson said through the Jollibee Group’s Farmer Entrepreneurship Program, at least 25 farmer groups currently supply Jollibee with fresh produce.
The partnership with DA did no indicate the target beneficiaries but is eyed to equip farmers and fisherfolk with improved skills and entrepreneurship knowledge to make their operations sustainable and efficient.
“Through this new partnership, we look forward to sustaining our efforts over the next three years in co-creating and implementing an agro-enterprise training program that build on each other’s strengths and experiences and complement the efforts of DA personnel, in helping farmer cooperatives and associations become profitable and successful,” Tiongson further said.
Tiongson said the partnership advances the interest and condition of small-scale Filipino farmers and fisherfolk, citing their previous experience that farmers gained not only a stable market but also the skills to project their income and manage their costs to the minimum.
DA Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban said in a statement the agreement is part of the Agro-Enterprise Clustering Approach which guides cooperative associations in the country in clustering and in marketing their agri-fishery products.
