Pilmico Foods Corporation (Pilmico), anak perusahaan makanan dari Aboitiz Group, bersama dengan Aboitiz Foundation, Inc (AFI) baru-baru ini memperbaharui kemitraan mereka dengan Departemen Reformasi Agraria (DAR) untuk memberikan bantuan mata pencaharian kepada Organisasi Penerima Manfaat Reforma Agraria (ARBO) di seluruh negeri.

Pilmico, AFI, dan DAR secara resmi memperbarui kemitraan mereka melalui Penandatanganan Nota Kesepahaman (MOU) pada tanggal 14 Oktober 2022 yang lalu, yang diadakan di kantor Aboitiz di Taguig City. Program Mata Pencaharian Yayasan Pilmico-Aboitiz bekerja sama dengan DAR akan memberikan peluang mata pencaharian kepada ARBO melalui donasi mesin telur dan peralatan penebaran emas.

"Sudah hampir sepuluh tahun sejak kami memulai inisiatif [program mata pencaharian] ini, dan penting bagi kami untuk terus menilai seberapa efektif kami dalam membantu para penerima manfaat untuk bertransisi menjadi pemilik usaha kecil yang sukses. Sangat penting bagi kami untuk memastikan bahwa inisiatif yang kami ajukan tetap relevan dengan perkembangan zaman, dan banyak hal yang telah berubah dan akan terus berubah," ujar Presiden dan CEO Pilmico, Tristan Aboitiz.

Program Mata Pencaharian Pilmico, inisiatif tanggung jawab sosial perusahaan (CSR) utama grup makanan ini, dimulai pada tahun 2013, sementara kemitraannya dengan DAR dimulai pada tahun 2017. Sejak pembentukan kemitraan, Pilmico dan DAR telah mendistribusikan total 177 perlengkapan mata pencaharian, dengan total lebih dari 17,2 juta Peso Filipina kepada para penerima manfaat di seluruh negeri. 

"Di era sekarang ini, kami ingin melihat para petani diintegrasikan ke dalam kelompok konsumen agar mereka memiliki daya beli yang lebih baik. Oleh karena itu, mereka akan memiliki peluang yang lebih besar untuk berhasil dalam bisnis apa pun yang akan mereka jalani. Jika kita membantu para petani, kita akan membangun sebuah negara yang sehat dan produktif yang akan menjadi sempurna untuk membangun bisnis dan mata pencaharian lainnya," ujar Estrella.

Seiring dengan pembaharuan kemitraan mereka, Pilmico berharap semakin banyak petani pekarangan yang mendapatkan manfaat dari peluang mata pencaharian yang mereka sediakan.

"Bersama dengan tim di Departemen Reformasi Agraria, kami berharap dapat mendorong transformasi petani dan pembuat roti kecil di Filipina, sehingga mereka, dan keluarga mereka, dapat memainkan peran yang berkelanjutan dalam mengembangkan sektor agribisnis Filipina di tahun-tahun mendatang," tambah Aboitiz.

Pertanyaan yang Sering Diajukan

What does the multi-year renewal history of this partnership say about its institutional maturity?
The Pilmico-Aboitiz-DAR livelihood partnership has been renewed multiple times since its initial establishment — in 2019 and again in 2022. This renewal history distinguishes it from single-cycle CSR initiatives and positions it as a sustained institutional program with demonstrated results and political credibility across multiple administrations. A program that survives government leadership transitions and produces sufficient evidence to be renewed rather than replaced has achieved a level of programmatic maturity that most CSR initiatives never reach.

What was renewed and what new commitments were made in the 2022 partnership signing?
On August 9, 2022, Pilmico and Aboitiz Foundation signed a renewed partnership agreement with the Department of Agrarian Reform, extending their collaborative livelihood assistance program for Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries. The new agreement introduced enhanced features including a larger pool of beneficiaries, expanded geographic coverage, and a strengthened technical assistance component. The renewal was directly justified by the program’s documented track record — with earlier beneficiaries showing sustained income improvement and some having paid forward assistance to neighbors.

What types of livelihood kits are included in the renewed program?
The renewed program maintained the three-kit model established in earlier partnership phases: gilt kits (two breeding-age female pigs and initial feed), egg machine kits (egg-laying machines, ready-to-lay hens, and a weighing scale), and bakery starter kits (commercial baking equipment and flour). This three-pronged approach serves farmers with different assets, skills, and market opportunities — a poultry kit suits a beneficiary near an egg market, a gilt kit suits one with land for animal grazing, and a bakery kit suits one in a community with bread demand.

What data from previous program phases supported the renewal?
The program’s track record included the documented 20% household income increase experienced by the majority of earlier beneficiaries — cited as recently as the 2019 partnership renewal as the key evidence of program effectiveness. Additionally, by the time of the 2022 renewal, the Cebu and Bohol ASF recovery program had produced beneficiaries who paid forward assistance by donating animals to neighbors — a second-order impact that demonstrated the program had generated surplus beyond subsistence recovery.

Who signed the 2022 renewal and what institutional significance did the signatories carry?
The MOU was signed by senior executives from Pilmico, Aboitiz Foundation, and the Department of Agrarian Reform, maintaining the multi-stakeholder institutional structure of all previous partnership phases. DAR’s continued participation reflects its recognition that the Pilmico-Aboitiz model of paired livelihood kits and technical assistance produces outcomes that complement the department’s own agrarian reform mandate — and that renewing the partnership is a more efficient use of public resources than duplicating the program independently.