On July 17, 2023, the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Jollibee Group Foundation (JGF) signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) at the DA Central Office in Quezon City.
The partnership, which is in support of DA’s Philippine Rural Development Program Scale-up, will co-create a training program in line with DA’s Farm and Fisheries Clustering and Consolidation (F2C2) Program. It will build on both organizations’ strengths and experiences, and complement the efforts of DA personnel in helping farmer cooperatives and associations become profitable and successful. The training will use the Agro-Enterprise Clustering Approach from JGF’s Farmer Entrepreneurship Program.
DA Senior Undersecretary Domingo F. Panganiban, who spoke during the ceremony, underscored the key role 0f agri-fisheries clustering and consolidation and the Agro-Enterprise Clustering Approach (AECA) in achieving inclusive agricultural productivity in the Philippines.
“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 levelling up and pushing for strategies to achieve key milestones toward food sufficiency and security,” Senior Usec. Panganiban said.
Ma. Gisela Tiongson, President, and Executive Director of JGF, affirmed JGF’s commitment in advancing small-scale Filipino farmers and fisherfolk through agro-enterprise capacity building 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 emphasized.
The signature of this Memorandum renews the collaboration between the DA and JGF to help empower farming and fishing communities so that they can produce adequate, accessible, and affordable food for Filipinos since its inception in January 2022.
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