Farmers benefitting in value chains of Jollibee onions, SanMig cassava

 

This was revealed during the two-day People-Powered Markets trade fair exhibit at the NBC Tent in Fort Bonifacio Global City in Taguig, where the the corporate-led social development foundation Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) was a co-presenter. The other major presenters are the Ninoy & Cory Aquino Foundation (NCAF) and the Filipino Micro-Enterprise (PinoyMe) Consortium, together with the Directories Philippines Corp. (DPC) Electronic Yellow Page (EYP).

The trade fair aims to create market links among micro-entrepreneurs and corporations as well as micro-financing institutions through the value chain or supply chain systems, paving the way for a truly inclusive economy benefitting all Filipinos and keeping alive the spirit of People Power.

Rafael C. Lopa, executive director of both NCAF and PBSP, earlier said the trade fair would bring about shared progress and prosperity for all Filipinos, as well as demonstrate the different ways in which people and private companies could use the market to address social problems in the country, while expanding the marketplace using the value-chain approach.

PBSP, the pioneer in corporate citizenship and social responsibility practices in the country for the past 40 years, includes Jollibee and San Miguel group of companies among its 240-plus roster of corporate membership.

Aside from the onion farmers of Jollibee and the cassava farmers of San Miguel, the trade fair also showcased the supply chains of organic white rice and muscovado sugar farmers assisted by Global Organic and Wellness Corp. (Glowcorp) and both green and red bean farmers of Arengga Bote Central roasted coffee.

For its part, the value chain program for Jollibee onions in Central Luzon was made possible through such partnerships with the Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the National Livelihood Development Corp. (NLDC), and the Kalasag Farmers Cooperative in San Jose, Nueva Ecija.With the Jollibee-CRS-NLDC program called “Bridging Farmers to the JFC Supply Chain,” the vice president of the largest farmers group in Northern Mindanao revealed how onion farmers benefitted in this value chain, particularly those in Impasugong, Bukidnon and in Claveria, Misamis Oriental.

The booth exhibit of Jollibee also showcased a CRS project called “Clustering Approach to Agro-enterprise Development,” in partnership with the Department of Agriculture (DA) to help cluster farmers groups of such crops as rice, coffee, and vegetables.

Joan C. Uy, a marketing consultant of CRS and marketing VP of the Northern Mindanao Vegetable Producers Association (NorminVeggies), cited the benefits of value chain business service providers amid shipping and other logistical challenges to make the onion farmers in Bukidnon and Misamis more competitive suppliers.

Aside from cassava, San Miguel Foods for its part had also assisted farmers of sweet potato, corn, and sorghum from Cauayan, Isabela in Northeastern Luzon to Surallah, South Cotabato and the Zamboanga Peninsula in Northwestern and Southern Mindanao.

With its cassava and other food crop value chain system dubbed “agro-industrial integrated cycle,” an assistant vice president of SMFI demonstrated how tapioca extracted from the crops of cassava farmers were being made into chips and pellets for animal feeds and for alcohol ingredients as an alternate to molasses.

Leopoldo S. Titular, AVP and manager of SMFI Agribusiness Development and Operations Group, revealed that tapioca starch is used as main food ingredient in pearl shakes, instant noodles, liquid seasoning, and monosodium glutamate, and as an alternate sweetener in fruit jams, canned fruits, and beverage drinks.

PinoyMe president Danilo Songco earlier said the People-Powered Markets would encourage the private sector to use their core business competencies to address poverty and improve social and economic bottom lines through exercising corporate social responsibility.

Songco had also said the strategies and lessons learned from such fair-trade experiences would encourage more public and private organizations as well as donor and multilateral agencies to provide intermediary services and technology solutions that would help link small producers to mainstream markets in a sustainable manner.

The trade fair demonstrated how the largest and the smallest or start-up companies had used their core businesses to engage poor communities in their production stage, showcasing how their products had benefitted less fortunate Filipinos and other stakeholders in the community.