FARM EMPLOYMENT | President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. meets his Private Sector Advisory Council on Dec. 9. (Photo from the Office of the Press Secretary)
MANILA, Philippines — Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion pushed the plan of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to restructure the country’s agricultural supply chain by proposing to generate more jobs through micro-entrepreneurship in the agriculture sector.
In a meeting of the President’s Private Sector Advisory Council, led by Aboitiz Group CEO Sabin Aboitiz, on Dec. 9, Concepcion emphasized the importance of helping agri-microentrepreneurs, which he said will also address problems in food security.
Concepcion, the advisory council’s lead for the jobs sector, noted that middle, small, and microenterprises (MSME) provide more than 62 percent of jobs in the Philippines and helping them grow is a more challenging task than in the retail sector because scaling them up will need help from large companies.
Among the proposals presented by the group were the scaling-up of MSMEs to help generate more jobs, upskilling workers, and ensuring that the Philippines is prepared to receive local and international investments.
Concepcion cited the Palawan-based Lionheart Farms, cofounded by Christian Moeller, which specializes in organic farming and strives to do all its business locally. Moeller said their business model is that of nucleus estate farming, where big companies provide the large initial investments and resources necessary for a farm to profitably operate, and small farmers or cooperatives enter into contract agreements with the larger companies.
Lionheart Farms reports that opportunities for entrepreneurship and businesses have risen significantly in Rizal, Palawan and opened opportunities for several other small businesses in the area. After only a few years of operation, it has become one of the largest employers in Palawan.
Aside from Lionheart Farms, other large companies have also realized the benefit of including in their value chain the small companies that support their operations. Among these are Universal Leaf Phils., Bounty Fresh Food, Nestlé and SL Agritech.
Concepcion said he plans to focus on agri-microentrepreneurs the Kapatid Angat Lahat program, which was first started in 2016 as a way to encourage medium and large corporations to help micro and small enterprises by including them in their value chain.
“We are not talking here of [doles], but of a sustainable and inclusive way where both parties can benefit and prosper,” Concepcion explained in an earlier statement. “Kapatid Angat Lahat will give access to the farmers a business model that will have mentoring, and access to money and markets,” he said.
“This is being done now; we need only to scale it up,” he said.
He also emphasized the importance of local government.