Highlighting the need to integrate government efforts with private sector engagement, the members of the “Pilipinas Kontra Gutom” pledged their support to the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) goal of modernizing and industrializing Philippine agriculture during a meeting with Agriculture Secretary William Dar on January 27, 2021.
The members led by Go Negosyo Senior Adviser for Agripreneurship Ginggay Hontiveros presented their programs and project for this year 2021.
The “Pilipinas Kontra Gutom” is a national movement initiated by the Inter-Agency Task Force (TF) on Zero Hunger, in which Secretary Dar served as the vice-chair.
It is comprised of various organizations including government, non-profit organizations, and private companies from different industries whose main objective is to ensure the availability and accessibility of food, secure nutrition adequacy, and provide assistance for farmers and fisherfolk.
The organizations involved are: Go Negosyo, Aboitiz, Nestle Philippines, Cargill, Jollibee, Harbest, Unilever, Universal Robina Corporation, Vitarich, Mcdonalds, Robinsons, Shoppee, Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP), Supply Chain Management Association of the Philippines (SCMAP), and United Nation Global Compact.
The program is comprised of four sub-streams: 1) market and financing access, 2) policy advocacy, 3) improving logistics, and 4) education. These substreams, to be led by the private sector, aim to elevate farming as a dignified and sustainable profession.
The group already identified 35,049 total beneficiaries composed of farmers involved in corn, vegetables, cacao, poultry, gilts/swine genetics, coffee, potato, and sugarcane farming. (Photos by Ardy Tompong, DA-AFID)
