The Philippines is the world’s second largest producer of coconuts, accounting for nearly a quarter of total output. It is also the largest exporter of desiccated coconut in the planet. Yet coconut farmers are perennially the poorest among agricultural producers despite the vast farm lands dedicated to the cultivation of this crop.
Coconut growers have solely relied on selling copra, whose prices have been unstable in recent years. Climate change is taking its toll on the productivity and income of farmers. They lose five to 10 trees, already in senescence, every typhoon, resulting in a lower yield. The COVID-19 pandemic aggravated the situation as lockdown measures crippled economic activities and cross-border shipping.
Agrea Agricultural Systems International Inc. or Agrea—a portmanteau of “agriculture” and “Gaea,” the Greek goddess of Earth—has embarked on a mission to help eradicate poverty among farmers and fisherfolk, as well as to alleviate the effects of climate change and to help ensure food security in the country. An innovative and inclusive agribusiness social enterprise founded in 2014, Agrea aims to dignify agricultural producers in the food chain.
Agrea has been working with coconut farmers in Marinduque to intercrop ginger and turmeric, hoping to improve their livelihood. Intercropping is the practice of growing a crop or two in the same field at the same time, thereby making the most out of farming space, for as long as the crops are compatible and do not compete for soil nutrients.
Biodiversity champs
In this business model, the company wants to help coconut farmers break out of poverty in 20 months and make them “biodiversity champions.”
“For the past seven years, we kind of perfected the technology of planting ginger and turmeric below the coconut intercrop,” Cherrie Atilano, Agrea founder, president and CEO, says in a virtual interview with the Inquirer.
Based on Agrea’s simulations, ginger and turmeric can be cultivated in sufficient scale in around 25 hectares of existing coconut farms via intercropping.
Normally, it takes eight months to harvest ginger while the production cycle for turmeric is 10 months. While waiting, farmers can cultivate fast-growing vegetables and raise poultry and livestock.
“Rice farmers are very poor but coconut farmers are [even] poorer because rice is harvested every three months and you can choose whatever you want to plant after. [With] coconuts, you cannot cut the trees and replace your planting,” says Atilano.
Agrea has established a farm school at the heart of its operations in Boac, Marinduque. It developed a community-based training program, wherein farmers are taught how to be entrepreneurs, guided on the cropping production process and assisted to increase their capacity to provide for their families.
“At the same time, [we are] encouraging the farmers [and] cooperators that we work with to plant vegetables and raise organic chicken, pigs or goats,” says Atilano.
Agrea Farm School provides workshops, training and certificate programs on organic agriculture. It is the first of its kind in the province and an accredited private extension service provider for the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.
“We conduct capacity building for the farmer cooperators, provide them with farm inputs, financial support for land preparation and farm management. Then, end goal is connecting them to the market at a decent farm-gate price,” she says.
Partnership with Ginga
Part of Agrea’s advocacy is to team up with other organizations with the same vision. Atilano recalls how Agrea reached out to Lota Lazarte-Manalo, CEO and president of Ginga Agrifood Manufacturing Ent. Inc., to collaborate and co-brand for an initiative to source turmeric and ginger directly from farmers.
The partnership between Agrea and Ginga, formalized in May this year, is a twopronged approach. They support Filipino farmers through climate-resilient initiatives while empowering women to venture into the male-dominated agriculture sector. Notably, both Agrea and Ginga are led by women.
Securing supply chain
Ginga, founded in 2005, is one of the leading tea and salabat (ginger tea) makers in the country. It is committed to produce all-natural, high-quality products using locally grown ingredients.
“Since 2005, our main goal [has been] to produce all organic and quality brews and teas that are accessible and affordable for everyone. We thrive to give you the best products while securing stable jobs and adequate compensation that our Filipino farmer deserves. In the midst of the pandemic, we provided opportunities to our farmers and partners in Lobo, Batangas, as part of giving back to the community,” says Manalo.
Ginga is now available in 400 stores all over the country and is about to quadruple production capacity, thereby requiring an augmented supply chain, says Atilano.
“Agrea is looking for a secure market; they are looking for a secure source,” says Atilano. “So we got a secure market, Ginga. We’re looking for more markets, and on the side, we teach farmers to diversify to more products like vegetables, for example.”
Before this initiative, the farmers would take home only P3,000 a month from copra. Now, they earn P12,000 to as much as P30,000 a month, way higher than the national poverty threshold level of around P12,000 for a family of five, she says. Agrea pays the farmers double the farm-gate prices when sourcing turmeric and ginger in bulk.
Transition
Cognizant that losses from coconut growing are always a key risk, the Agrea founder says they are sourcing planting materials from the National Coconut Research Center to plant Coco Niño or dwarf coconut to replace old coconut trees later on. With Coco Niño, 125 trees can be planted per hectare and these smaller trees can yield around 400 fruits every year, whereas the older and taller varieties can only deliver around 100 per year. Atilano believes that transitioning to dwarf coconut trees is the way to mitigate climate change, as it could boost output using the same land area.
“Tall coconuts look good in pictures. We can still do that in some areas,” she notes. But to improve productivity, she says farmers have to be more practical and mindful of climate realities.
The ultimate goal is to uplift farmers, as they are the ones producing the food that people consume daily. Moving forward, Agrea also plans to produce coco sugar and other high-value consumer products.
“I always say this: it’s a crime against humanity that the producers of our food are the poorest and the hungriest. It should not be [the case]. They feed us and then they earn a little,” says Atilano.
“They deserve to be the first to eat their produce and at the same time, they deserve to earn a decent income from their produce. ”It’s a crime against humanity that the producers of our food are the poorest and the hungriest. It should not be [the case]. They feed us and then they earn a little Cherrie Atilano Agrea founder and CEO
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