Jollibee Foundation develops farmers to agro-entrepreneurs

CEBU, Philippines —  Jollibee Foods Corporation, through its social responsibility arm Jollibee Group Foundation (JGF), intensified its support to farmer partners in the Philippines, teaching them to level up from mere farmers to farmer-entrepreneurs, through the Farmer Entrepreneurship Program (FEP).

JGF collaborates with community-based partners to shift farmers’ mindsets and practices from individual producers to agro-entrepreneurs working in clusters.

This shift changes farmers’ lives by providing them with a more sustainable source of income and increasing their pride in the value of their work.

JGF’s FEP is a comprehensive agro-entrepreneurship program that helps sharpen the technical and business skills of farmers. FEP also links farmers to institutional markets such as the Jollibee Group’s brands for increased and steady income.

“JGF and our partners assist farmers in becoming farmer-entrepreneurs, allowing them to participate in more activity in agriculture value chains, provide food for their own families and contribute to the country’s food security,’ said JGF executive director Gisela Tiongson.

Through agro-entrepreneurship and leadership training, farmers learn the Agro-Enterprise Clustering Approach, which organizes farmers into clusters and guides them in developing a business plan to establish their collective farming enterprise.

Farmers learn to enhance the quality of their goods to satisfy market standards in addition to being formally structured as groups or cooperatives.

Currently, 94 percent of FEP farmer groups are certified under the Philippine Good Agricultural Practices (PhilGAP), which ensures that crop production complies with food safety standards.

The Foundation then helps farmers access reliable markets for their produce. White onions used in Jollibee Yumburger, spring onions sprinkled on the Chowking Chao Fan, green bell peppers in the Greenwich Hawaiian Overload Pizza, and ginger and calamansi in Mang Inasal products are grown with joy and supplied by FEP farmers.

In addition, FEP farmers gain access to innovations and technologies on weather, crops, and soil to help increase their yield and manage resources such as seeds and fertilizers.

As a result of these initiatives, farmers learn how to scale their operations, maintain their status as suppliers to big companies, and further expand their clientele.

“These interventions are made possible with the help of our local and international partners in the agriculture ecosystem. We are extremely grateful for the assistance they provide that adds value to the farmers for the long term,” Tiongson said.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), one in every five Filipino workers is employed in agriculture, but this sector remains the poorest among the basic sectors.

In May 2022, PSA also reported that the value of agricultural and fisheries production fell by 0.3 percent in the first quarter of 2022.

Smallholder farmers dominate agricultural production in the Philippines, but most of them are struggling to improve their farming practices and find buyers due to a lack of access to training and technologies.

Since 2008, JGF and its partners nationwide have been empowering farmers to have a more sustainable livelihood and income.

Jollibee Group currently has 18 accredited farmer groups as suppliers. Since the program began, FEP farmers have delivered 9 million kilos of vegetables to the company and earned more than P360 million (USD $6.3 million).