Reflection on the Farmer Entrepreneurship Program

The Farmer Entrepreneurship Program’s (FEP) success story presents the effective
application of the Value Chain Development (VCD) approach as a strategy to build inclusive
and sustainable supply chains by bridging smallholder suppliers to institutional buyers in said
chain. The agricultural sector is the target main beneficiary of the FEP, being one of the most
vulnerable and poor sectors in the Philippine society. The project sought to directly assimilate
family-run farms to that of Jollibee Food Corp’s (JFC) supply chain. This project was
conceived through the initiative of JFC’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) arm, the Jollibee
Foundation Group (JFG); and in partnership with the Catholic Relief Services (CRS), and the
National Livelihood Development Corporation. These actors provided the enabling structures,
access to capital, and soft components to equip and capacitate small hold farmers to meet the
quality and volume requirements of institutional buyers such as JFC. A valuable aspect of the
project was the transfer of entrepreneurial knowledge and skills to farmers so as to empower
them especially in the business dealings for their produce to ensure equitable profit margins.
The FEP is considered a success given that it was able to provide favorable economic results
for both sides of the value chain. For one, farmers were able to improve on the quality and yield
of produce, from which income is generated; and JFC was afforded with quality and stable
supply of the same needed to sustain their business. This dynamics in turn created an effect in
boosting the rural economy through its participation in the food service value chain that is
driven by the lucrative market demand of the urban populace.
Through learning about this case, I was able to derive several insights. One is the extent
of impact private enterprises have in micro-economic development. Through mindful conduct
of business to include social and environmental accountability in its pursuit of economic
growth, large firms can collectively bring about real domestic economic growth by capacitating
and tapping from the different sectors of society. Through this, mutual benefit could be derived
as wealth is generated across a wider number of communities and households, which in turn
spurs quantity demanded for goods and services overall which is good for the general business
environment. Second realization is that information asymmetry is a significant barrier to entry
for the vulnerable sectors. In the case of small holder farmers, lack of information such as on
credit availability, government assistance programs, post-harvest practices, prevailing market
prices, and basic business acumen places them at a disadvantage against other stakeholders
such as traders and industrial scale farms. Which bring me to my third realization on the
importance of Non-governmental organizations to mediate gaps such as on information and
available opportunities between the marginalized and structurally disadvantaged sectors of
society, to the various institutions, government and private alike.