Jollibee Group Global Chief Marketing Officer David Beal received a certificate from Rajeev Peshawaria (left), CEO of Stewardship Asia Centre, and Patrick Daniel (right), Board Director of Stewardship Asia Centre and SPH Media Trust at the Steward Leadership 25 (SL25) unveiling dinner held in Singapore last October 23, 2024. SL25 has recognized the Farmer Entrepreneurship Program (FEP), a joint initiative between the company and its social development arm, Jollibee Group Foundation.

MANILA, Philippines. 25 October 2024 – The Jollibee Group and its social development arm, the Jollibee Group Foundation, Inc. (JGF), through its banner program Farmer Entrepreneurship Program (FEP), was recognized as among the leading corporations in Asia-Pacific in the prestigious 2024 Steward Leadership 25 (SL25) list for demonstrating excellence in enabling over 1,400 smallholder farmers to become strategic suppliers for its restaurant brands like Jollibee, Chowking, Mang Inasal, and Greenwich.

The SL25 honors the 25 best initiatives by for-profit organizations in the Asia Pacific region that demonstrate steward leadership excellence by going beyond profit-making to tackle climate change and social inequality.

Spearheaded by Stewardship Asia Centre, the SL25 awarding ceremony was held last October 23 in Singapore in the Unveiling Dinner attended by all honorees and SL25 partners including Insead Hoffmann Global Institute for Business and Society, global broking and solutions firm Willis Towers Watson plc and The Straits Times.

“On behalf of the Jollibee Group, JGF and our dedicated partners who have been key in driving and expanding the FEP, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to Stewardship Asia Centre and its partners for this recognition. Being included in the Steward Leadership list affirms that our efforts to uplift Filipino smallholder farmers are making a meaningful impact. We aim to continue enabling our most fundamental suppliers and honing the next generation of farmer entrepreneurs,” said JGF President Gisela Tiongson.

Transforming smallholder farmers’ lives

FEP aims to enhance livelihood opportunities for smallholder farmers and transform them into agro-entrepreneurs by providing entrepreneurial and leadership training and access to fair markets and partners to boost their productivity and profitability.

“FEP has been instrumental in equipping and empowering our farmers to evolve into strategic, long-term partners of the Jollibee Group. Their dedication to learning and scaling their businesses, all while striving for a better life for their families, is at the heart of our Global Sustainability Agenda, Joy for Tomorrow, and is what inspires us to keep innovating and supporting each other,” said Jollibee Group Chief Sustainability and Public Affairs Officer Pepot Miñana.

Under FEP, farmers are trained to acquire business skills to boost their capacity to supply produce to institutional clients like Jollibee Group. It uses the Agro-Enterprise Clustering Approach, which organizes farmers into clusters and guides them in developing a business plan to establish their collective farming enterprise.

In 2023, FEP farmers were able to deliver 1,367,000 kilos of vegetables to Jollibee Group and supplied 24% of the company’s total onion requirements.

From 60,000 kilos delivered to Jollibee Group Commissary in 2009, to date, more than 12 million kilos of vegetables have been supplied by the FEP farmers, amounting to more than 600 million pesos worth of sales to Jollibee Group. FEP is sourcing directly from smallholder farmers from 45 cities and municipalities in 15 provinces.

“The success of FEP and its farmers not only strengthens stakeholder confidence and ensures the sustainability of Jollibee Group’s supply chain, but more importantly, it contributes to the global mission of addressing food security by empowering the heart of the agriculture sector,” said Jollibee Group Global Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Global Digital Marketing David Beal.

FEP forms part of the People pillar of the Jollibee Group’s global sustainability agenda dubbed “Joy for Tomorrow.” Through these initiatives, the Jollibee Group recognizes that it must use its global scale, resources, and expertise to help usher in a more sustainable future for society and the planet. 

Through the training offered by FEP, smallholder farmers like Catalino Panaginip have improved their profitability and production by supplying to select Jollibee Group stores in select Cebu City.

Ligaya Miras is an FEP farmer and a cluster leader in Sudlon II, Cebu City. Apart from uplifting her livelihood, she cites her improved confidence in handling the farm and speaking with other people as the most notable benefits of FEP.