Farmers have traditionally sold their produce to middlemen or consolidators, but not directly to the end-users. But with the Jollibee Group Foundation’s Farmer Entrepreneurship Program (FEP), farmers now have a process to deliver directly to restaurants, including big chains like the Jollibee Group.

Take the Lamac Multi-Purpose Cooperative (LMPC), based in Pinamungajan, Cebu, for example. LMPC’s Business Development Center handles receiving bids from farmer clusters that correspond to their available vegetables for the day. They deliver stocked orders from the previous day, and pick up vegetables from Sudlon and Dalaguete for packing and delivery the following day.

The cooperative’s trucks carry 1,000 tons of various vegetables for delivery all over Cebu. The simultaneous departure of trucks that cover the northern and southern regions of Cebu ensure that LMPC meets their buyers’ required delivery times.

“It’s really a big blessing for us to sell and deliver our vegetables to Chowking, Jollibee, and other buyers. It made life easier,” said FEP farmer Timotea Panaginip in Tagalog.

Of course, changing demands may sometimes mean farmers need to increase their produce, which requires a bigger budget.

LMPC general manager Maria Elena Limocon said: “Our mission is to respond to the needs of vulnerable sectors, especially the farmers. We become their financial intermediator kung kailangan po nila na mag-increase ang kanilang production (if they have to increase their production). [For that] we have our lending and savings component.”

Thanks to FEP, farmer members have observed an income increase by learning how to make use of production loans, and enabling them to receive patronage funds and even dividends from their cooperative.

Farmer leader Ligaya Miras said: “Naging confident kaming farmers bilang members ng FEP. Hindi lang farmer ang tingin ko sa sarili ko ngayon. Isang ‘agro-preneur’ na po (We became confident farmers as members of FEP. I no longer think of myself as just a farmer. I am now an agro-preneur.”