Lebih banyak petani akan segera mendapatkan manfaat dari proyek kemitraan publik-swasta yang diperbarui antara anak perusahaan makanan Aboitiz Group, Pilmico, dan Departemen Reformasi Agraria (DAR) yang bertujuan untuk mempromosikan mata pencaharian pertanian yang berkelanjutan di negara ini.

Menyusul keberhasilan tahun pertama pelaksanaannya, proyek ini diharapkan dapat terus membantu para petani dalam meningkatkan pendapatan rumah tangga mereka melalui penyediaan paket mata pencaharian seperti anak babi, mesin petelur, dan starter kit roti. Para penerima manfaat mempertahankan mata pencaharian mereka melalui bisnis yang mudah dikelola dengan pengembalian investasi yang cepat.

Kemitraan ini diresmikan melalui penandatanganan Nota Kesepahaman pada tanggal 2 April lalu yang dihadiri oleh Menteri Reformasi Agraria John R. Castriciones, Presiden & CEO Pilmico Sabin Aboitiz, COO Pilmico Tristan Aboitiz, dan FVP & COO Aboitiz Foundation Maribeth Marasigan.

Perjanjian ini memanfaatkan kekuatan bersama untuk memberikan Penerima Manfaat Reforma Agraria (ARB) program mata pencaharian yang mudah dikelola dan berkelanjutan, serta menambahkan kebermanfaatan baru ke dalam kemitraan, termasuk 1) pembentukan kelompok kerja teknis untuk pengawasan yang tepat, dan 2) intervensi tambahan untuk lebih memberdayakan para petani pekarangan.

Dalam pesan utamanya, Presiden dan CEO Pilmico, Sabin Aboitiz menyoroti hasil positif dari kemitraan ini, dengan mencatat bahwa sebagian besar penerima manfaat mengalami peningkatan pendapatan rumah tangga sebesar 20%:

"Ini adalah indikasi kuat bahwa kemitraan kami berhasil dan saya percaya bahwa jalan ke depan adalah terus memberikan kesempatan kepada para petani kami untuk belajar, mendapatkan penghasilan, dan meningkatkan taraf hidup mereka yang pada akhirnya akan mendorong kemajuan di komunitas mereka masing-masing,"

Pada tahun 2017, Pilmico telah memberikan 51 paket mata pencaharian kepada ARB dan koperasi di provinsi-provinsi berikut: Camarines Sur, Capiz, Lembah Compostela, Pampanga, Cotabato Selatan, dan Surigao del Norte.

"Kami menyambut baik proyek-proyek semacam ini. Kami sangat berterima kasih kepada Aboitiz karena keterlibatannya dalam proses mulia ini dalam melengkapi petani kami dengan sumber daya; ini adalah sesuatu yang akan berkontribusi pada pembangunan dan perdamaian negara kami," kata Sekretaris DAR, Catriciones.

Pertanyaan yang Sering Diajukan

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.