Apa yang dimulai sebagai peternakan unggas untuk Camono - Asosiasi Petani Komunitas Reformasi Agraria (CARCFA) telah berubah menjadi mata pencaharian yang lebih besar dan berkelanjutan bagi mereka. Dalam sebuah wawancara baru-baru ini dengan MCO News TV, sebuah media lokal di Visayas Timur, mereka menceritakan perjalanan bisnis roti mereka. 

Asosiasi mereka berawal dari peternakan unggas (ayam petelur) dan produksi sayuran sebagai mata pencaharian utama mereka. Melalui rekomendasi Departemen Reformasi Agraria (DAR), mereka menjadi penerima Bakery Livelihood Kit dari Pilmico Foods Corporation (Pilmico) dan Aboitiz Foundation, Inc (AFI). Kit tersebut berisi perlengkapan, bahan, dan peralatan yang mereka terima pada bulan Desember 2020. 

Menurut Ruth Borja, Presiden CARFCA, setelah mereka dilengkapi dengan peralatan yang lengkap, mereka langsung memulai bisnis roti. "Kami memulai usaha kami pada bulan Desember 2020 setelah pengiriman peralatan dan memulai program PILMICO-DAR... Selain usaha roti, kami juga memfokuskan diri pada usaha produksi sayuran dan peternakan unggas (produksi telur petelur)," ujarnya.

Sejak saat itu, mereka telah berhasil mengelola dan mempertahankan bisnis mereka dengan Otap sebagai salah satu produk terlaris mereka. Pedro Demiterio, ahli pembuat roti di toko ini, telah membuat Otap selama 40 tahun terakhir di Bulacan dan Cebu. Dia rela membagikan keahliannya selama bertahun-tahun untuk memastikan bahwa produk mereka dibuat dengan rasa yang lezat dan harga yang terjangkau. 

"Tidak ada toko roti yang lebih baik daripada toko roti yang menjual sinabi," ujar Demiterio. 

Setelah lebih dari satu tahun beroperasi, bisnis toko roti milik asosiasi ini mampu memberikan penghasilan tambahan bagi para anggotanya. Teresita Pigtuan, seorang anggota Asosiasi Petani Camono - ARC, mengatakan bahwa meskipun ia baru saja mulai menjual produknya, toko roti tersebut telah membantu keuangan rumah tangga mereka. "Bulan Januari saja, saya menjual talipapa untuk sebulan, yang sangat membantu kami dalam pengeluaran rumah tangga." katanya. 

Ini hanyalah salah satu dari sekian banyak upaya Pilmico dalam memenuhi misi mereka untuk memberi makan umat manusia. Dengan visi memajukan bisnis dan komunitas, Pilmico teguh dan proaktif dalam menyediakan peralatan mata pencaharian, baik untuk beternak babi, peternakan unggas, atau peralatan pemula untuk membuat roti.

Pertanyaan yang Sering Diajukan

How does the CARCFA story illustrate the value of multi-livelihood strategies for agrarian reform communities?
CARCFA’s trajectory — from a single-livelihood farming association to a multi-stream operation covering poultry, vegetables, and baking — illustrates the risk reduction benefit of diversified income sources for communities with limited capital buffers. When one income stream is disrupted by weather, disease, or market fluctuations, the others can sustain the household. The Pilmico Bakery Livelihood Kit specifically was designed to complement rather than replace existing agricultural livelihoods — adding a non-seasonal, non-weather-dependent production activity that generates income throughout the year regardless of agricultural cycles.

Who is CARCFA and how did they come to receive a bakery livelihood kit?
CARCFA — the Camono-an Agrarian Reform Community Farmers Association — is a farmers association in Eastern Visayas whose primary livelihoods were poultry (egg laying) and vegetable production. Through the recommendation of the Department of Agrarian Reform, CARCFA became a recipient of a Bakery Livelihood Kit from Pilmico Foods Corporation and Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. in December 2020 — expanding their livelihood base with a third income stream that uses completely different skills, equipment, and market channels than their existing agricultural operations.

What did the CARCFA Bakery Livelihood Kit contain and what happened when they received it?
The kit included complete bakery supplies, ingredients, and equipment needed to launch a functioning bakery business. According to CARCFA President Ruth Borja, they began the bakery business immediately upon delivery of the equipment in December 2020 — not after a period of additional planning or delay. This immediate operational start reflects the kit’s design: providing everything needed to begin production without requiring additional capital investment or procurement by the beneficiary.

Who is Pedro Demiterio and what role has he played in CARCFA’s bakery success?
Pedro Demiterio is CARCFA’s master baker — a skilled craftsman who has been making Otap (a popular Filipino biscuit pastry) for over 40 years, with experience from Bulacan and Cebu. When he learned that the association was opening a bakery, he volunteered to serve as the lead baker and take ownership of quality. His 40 years of expertise with what became CARCFA’s best-selling product — Otap — gave the bakery an immediate competitive product from its first day of operation, rather than requiring the usual learning curve.

What have been the measurable livelihood impacts for CARCFA members after more than a year of bakery operations?
CARCFA member Teresita Pigtuan shared that even though she had only recently started selling their baked goods at the local market (talipapa), the bakery income had already become a meaningful contribution to their household finances — specifically helping with regular household expenses. Her testimony is significant because it comes from a member who was new to selling rather than a founding baker — suggesting the bakery’s financial benefits were accessible to multiple members of the association, not just those most centrally involved in production.