Although the Philippines is an agricultural country, farmers are among the poorest in the land. But for farmers in Nueva Ecija, a long-standing partnership with Jollibee Group Foundation offered a chance to break the cycle of rural poverty.

Under the Farmer Entrepreneurship Program (FEP), the farmer members of the KalasagMulti-Purpose Cooperative have been earning a steady stream of income supplying white onions and hot peppers to the Jollibee Group since 2009.

With the support of partners such as the Local Government Unit of San Jose City, Nueva Ecija, Kalasag was able to sell over 730 metric tons of white onions to the Jollibee Group in 2017. The farmers’ gross income more than doubled from PHP3.1 million in 2008 to PHP7.6 million in 2010 as the Jollibee Group bought the onions at a higher price and introduced them to other buyers.

The higher income allowed the farmers to pay off debts and invest in machinery, creating the conditions that would enable them to shift away from subsistence production. Today, they are farmer-entrepreneurs.

“We would not have reached this far if it weren’t for the agencies that supported us. They were the ones who encouraged us to work for a better life,” Kalasag Chairman Arnold Dizonsaid in Filipino.

As the pioneer group for FEP, Kalasag’s success shows that, with the right support, smallholder farmers can become suppliers of big companies.

“What we are offering in Jollibee Group Foundation is a model that could work and that could be an example for others. Work with us. Work with the farmers and this could become a big development in the agricultural sector,” said Ysmael Baysa, Chief Financial Officer of the Jollibee Group.