Hope for Agriculture Is Sparked by a Female Farmer Leader

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At the Cavite-based Magallanes-Samahang Magsasaka ng Kay-apas at Medina Agriculture Cooperative (MAG-SAMAKAME), Bernadeth Carandang is the farmer leader. She was familiar with the challenges experienced by farmers because she was raised in a farming household.

“Utang, benta, at bayad kami noon. Uutang para sa kapital, magbebenta ng ani, at ipambabayad sa utang yung kita. Tapos uulit lang. Halos wala nang naiiwan sa amin (Borrow money, sell, and pay off debts was our practice. We would loan our capital, sell our harvest, and pay off debts with our earnings. It was a cycle. We almost had nothing left),” she said.

Since farming was the only profession they were familiar with, Bernadeth and her fellow farmers pondered how they could enhance their income.

Becoming agro-entrepreneurs

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The Jollibee Group Foundation’s (JGF) Farmer Entrepreneurship Program (FEP), which assists farmers in boosting their revenue by directly serving institutional markets, welcomed the local government unit (LGU) of Magallanes in 2018.

Through their involvement in the cooperation, MAG-SAMAKAME received training on the eight-step Agro-Enterprise Clustering Approach, which results in their delivery to the Jollibee Group as a recognized supplier. In addition, Bernadeth took part in the course “Agro-entrepreneurship for Inclusive Value Chains,” where she improved both her managerial and business abilities. Jollibee Group Foundation and Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan together designed the course.

“Ang sarap sa pakiramdam!’ yung isa sa kanila napapikit talaga at sabi!'(One of them closed his eyes and exclaimed, ‘This feels so good!’,” Bernadeth related.

Since then, they have provided Jollibee’s Champ burgers with an average of 2,500 kg of fresh tomatoes per month.

A woman farmer leader

Bernadeth is a leader who empowers farmers, especially women, in her capacity as cooperative secretary. In 2003, MAG-SAMAKAME was founded by 16 avant-garde individuals. Since then, it has multiplied by five and now numbers 84, 48 of which are female.

“Dapat lalaki, sir, kapag magsasaka,” Bernadeth remarked, “They said that farmers should be men, but now we’re seeing that more women are becoming farmers.

As a woman, Bernadeth finds her greatest strength is patience, which she uses not only in tending to her crops, but also in encouraging farmer members to join the cluster that supplies to Jollibee. “Dati ayaw nila sumali, hindi daw nila kaya magcommit. Sabi ko ‘wag tayong matakot sumubok (Before, the farmers refused to join, saying they can’t commit. I told them to not be afraid to try),” she said.

Bernadeth discovered that the farmers had grown more cooperative as a result of her teaching them how to think and act like businesspeople. They are currently considering how to expand their company by growing additional veggies, such as bell peppers, and contacting additional institutional customers.

By working with the LGU, we want to increase the amount of vegetables we provide so that we can support additional farmers in Magallanes, Bernadeth added in Filipino.

Sowing seeds of hope

Bernadeth continued to be dedicated to farming while pursuing her never-ending love of learning in the field of education. She was certified as a teacher in 2022 and now instructs secondary pupils in technology and livelihood education.

“Tinanong ko ang students ko kung anong gusto nilang maging. Walang may gustong magsaka. Ituturo ko sa kanila na farming is a business, at ang kaalaman ko sa agriculture at agro-enterprise. (I asked my students what they want to be in the future. Nobody wants to farm. I will teach them that farming is a business, as well as my knowledge in agriculture and agro-enterprise),” she said. “After all, farming is a profession of hope.”