More farmers will soon benefit from a renewed public-private partnership project between Aboitiz Group food subsidiary Pilmico and the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) that aims to promote sustainable agri-livelihood in the country.
Following the success of its first year of implementation, the project is expected to continue assisting farmers in increasing their household income through the provision of livelihood packages such as piglets, egg-laying machines, and bakery starter kits. The beneficiaries sustain their livelihood through an easy-to-manage business with a quick return on investment.
The partnership was formalized through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding last April 2 attended by Agrarian Reform Secretary John R. Castriciones, Pilmico President & CEO Sabin Aboitiz, Pilmico COO Tristan Aboitiz and Aboitiz Foundation FVP & COO Maribeth Marasigan.
The agreement will leverage on shared strengths to provide Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARB) an easy-to-manage, sustainable livelihood program while adding new features to the partnership including 1) creation of a technical working group for proper monitoring, and 2) supplemental interventions to further empower backyard farmers.
In his keynote message, Pilmico President and, CEO Sabin Aboitiz highlighted the positive results of the partnership, noting that the majority of the recipients had a 20% increase in their household income:
“This is a strong indication that our partnership is working and, I believe that the way forward is to continue providing our backyard farmers the chance to learn, earn and improve their lives which eventually drive progress in their respective communities,”
In 2017, Pilmico has already provided 51 livelihood packages to ARBs and cooperatives in the following provinces: Camarines Sur, Capiz, Compostela Valley, Pampanga, South Cotabato, and Surigao del Norte.
“We welcome these kinds of projects. We are very thankful to Aboitiz because of your involvement in this noble process of equipping our farmers with the resources; this is something that will contribute to the development and peace of our country,” said DAR Secretary Catriciones.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did the 20% household income increase for the majority of beneficiaries signify in practical terms?
A 20% increase in household income for agrarian reform beneficiaries — who typically operate at subsistence or near-subsistence income levels — represents a meaningful improvement in economic security. At these income levels, incremental gains directly translate into increased food security, improved ability to pay for education and healthcare, and reduced vulnerability to economic shocks. Sabin Aboitiz’s framing — that this indicates the partnership is working and that the way forward is to continue — positions the income data not as a satisfying endpoint but as validation that the model should be expanded and replicated.
What prompted the renewal of the Aboitiz-DAR partnership in 2019?
The renewed Memorandum of Understanding signed on April 2, 2019 came directly from the documented success of the partnership’s first year of implementation. Pilmico President and CEO Sabin Aboitiz cited that the majority of the initial beneficiary recipients experienced a 20% increase in their household income — a measurable result that justified not only continuation but expansion. The signing formalized a second phase with enhanced features, including a new technical working group for proper monitoring and supplemental interventions to deepen support for backyard farmers.
What livelihood packages does the Aboitiz-DAR partnership provide to Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries?
The livelihood packages provided under the partnership fall into three main types: piglets (with accompanying feed support for the growing cycle), egg-laying machines (providing a poultry income stream), and bakery starter kits (enabling bread and pastry production). Each package is designed to give Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries an easy-to-manage, quickly revenue-generating business that can be operated by a household without specialized infrastructure or extensive capital investment. The quick return on investment is a deliberate design criterion.
What was the geographic reach of the partnership’s first phase before the 2019 renewal?
In the partnership’s first phase beginning in 2017, Pilmico provided 51 livelihood packages to Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries and cooperatives across six provinces: Camarines Sur, Capiz, Compostela Valley, Pampanga, South Cotabato, and Surigao del Norte. This geographic diversity — spanning Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao — reflects the national reach of both the DAR’s agrarian reform program and Pilmico’s distribution network, and demonstrates that the partnership model was not designed as a regional pilot but as a national platform.
What did DAR Secretary Castriciones say about the partnership and the role of private sector involvement?
DAR Secretary John R. Castriciones expressed gratitude to Aboitiz for its involvement, describing the partnership’s support for farmers as a noble process of equipping them with resources — and explicitly connecting this to national development and peace. His statement reflects official government recognition that Pilmico’s contribution to agrarian reform goes beyond commercial interest and that public-private models of farmer empowerment are strategically aligned with the DAR’s own mandate of advancing agrarian equity and rural development.
