By Almira Louise S. Martinez

SMALL FARMERS from Cebu in central Philippines have boosted their income under an entrepreneurship program that lets them expand their market by supplying corporate buyers like Jollibee Foods Corp.

Ligaya Miras, cluster leader and a farmer under the Farmer Entrepreneurship Program, noted that before the partnership with the Lamac Multi-purpose Cooperative and Jollibee Group, they had a small market that dictated prices.

“Many of our goods remained unpurchased because we only knew how to market them in our area,” she told BusinessWorld in Filipino. “They were the ones who decided the price, and we didn’t get a say in it.”

Filipino farmers and fisherfolk were among the poorest in the country in 2021, with a poverty incidence of 30% and 30.06%, respectively, according to the local statistics agency.

Under a so-called agro-enterprise clustering approach program, Cebu farmers can sell their produce to companies like Jollibee, assuring them of a steady market.

Lamac Multi-Purpose Cooperative General Manager Ma. Elena C. Limocon said farmers who do not belong to clusters have lower incomes. “We can’t assure them of a market if they are fragmented,” she said in Filipino.

The average monthly net income of farmers under the program ranges from P20,000 to P50,000, depending on the season, Justine Lynn C. Limocon, business development manager at Lamac Cooperative, said.

This is 25% to 35% higher than the farmers’ earnings before they joined the cooperative, proof that there is money in agriculture, she said.

There are 584 farmers and 45 clusters in Cebu delivering produce to Jollibee restaurants, as well as Chowking.

Japo Vicente, senior program officer at Jollibee Group Foundation, said 23% of the requirements of the fast-food chain including onions, bell peppers, and gingers, are supplied by the farmers.

The company also buys lettuce, cabbage, spinach, tomatoes, spring onion, and assorted vegetables from them.

As of July, the cooperative had delivered 42 metric tons of vegetables, and seeks to surpass last year’s record of 83 metric tons by the end of 2024, said L.A. Cruzat, foundation partnership and operations director.

Ms. Limocon said they plan to supply rice, their highest-grossing product in the area, once the Agriculture department’s rice warehouse facility becomes operational. “We will send samples to them to see if we can start supplying next year.”

The cooperative seeks to contribute at least 20% of Jollibee’s rice requirements by 2025.