On its 20th year, the Jollibee Group Foundation (JGF) is also celebrating its successful formula for prosperity in farming.

There was a time when growing onions was as tearsome as peeling it. Farmer Wencelito Gomez, co-founder of the Kalasag Multi-purpose Cooperative (KMC) based in San Jose, Nueva Ecija, recalls the years before they organized the coop, when onions could go for as low as one peso per kilo, leaving growers with barely enough to survive.

When the local government unit (LGU) connected them to JGF and its partners, everything changed. Through the FEP, Gomez and his fellow farmers received business training, technical support, and access to a steady market.

FEP, one of JGF’s long-standing programs, supports smallholder farmers by providing them with the skills and systems needed to operate as agro-enterprises, or enterprises built around agricultural work.

Fellow farmer and KMC chairperson Arnold Dizon, together with Gomez and 28 other onion growers, organized the coop in 2008. Under Dizon’s leadership, KMC secured access to a stable market, helped members learn the fundamentals of running a business, from crafting supply plans to securing certifications like Good Agricultural Practices and Asia Good Agricultural Practices.

What started as a dream to sell onions at a fair price has turned into a thriving community enterprise that provides dividends, loans, and even educational support to its members.

In 2024, FEP farmers supplied half of the Jollibee Group’s onion requirements. To date, 34 farmer groups collectively delivered 13 million kilos of produce from their farms to Jollibee, Chowking, Greenwich and Mang Inasal commissaries, generating P703 million in sales. Through direct market access, they significantly increase their income and provide stable livelihoods for their families.

Today, all three of Dizon’s children are now farming on land he was able to acquire through the cooperative.

”If you pursue farming, your family will prosper,” he said.

As for Gomez, he mentored other farmer groups across the country, helping expand cooperative farming. His passion now lies in inspiring the next generation, proving that farming can be both a dignified profession and a path to growth.

The stories of Dizon and Gomez were at the center of the recent FEP Farm Visit, which immersed select members of the media on how the program works on the ground. Firsthand accounts of the farmers’ journey also reinforces the fact that supporting local agriculture means supporting Filipino families, livelihoods and the long-term health of our food systems.

Every kilo of onion delivered by KMC members to its intended market represents the journey of smallholder farmers who, with the support of JGF, have grown crops that nurtured skills and confidence along the way.

Programs like FEP demonstrate how strategic agricultural support creates lasting change — building stronger communities, more reliable food systems, and sustainable livelihoods for Filipino farmers.