The Department of Agriculture and the Jollibee Group Foundation signed a memorandum of agreement on July 17, 2023 to improve agricultural stakeholders’ market access for better income.
Agriculture Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban underscored the important role of agri-fisheries clustering and consolidation and the Agro-Enterprise Clustering Approach in achieving inclusive agricultural productivity in the country.
“As you may know, clustering and consolidation is a top priority of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. Under his leadership, the Department of Agriculture is leveling up and pushing for strategies to achieve key milestones toward food sufficiency and security,” Panganiban said.
The partnership signifies the renewal of collaboration between the DA and JGF in empowering farming and fishing communities to produce enough, accessible, and affordable food for Filipinos since its inception in January 2022.
JGF president and executive director Ma. Gisela Tiongson pledged their commitment in advancing the interest and condition of small scale Filipino farmers and fisherfolk through various agro-enterprise capacity building activities in line with the F2C2 program.
“Through this new partnership, we look forward to sustaining our efforts over the next three years, in co-creating and implementing an agro-enterprise training program that build on each other’s strengths and experiences, and complement the efforts of DA personnel, in helping farmer cooperatives and associations become profitable and successful,” she said.
The DA said one key measure to achieve agricultural inclusivity is to mainstream the Farm and Fisheries Clustering and Consolidation (F2C2) program in the DA Banner Programs and Operating Units, particularly the institutionalization of the AECA course in the Department through the Philippine Rural Development Program Scale-Up.