Inclusive businesses’ impact widest in agriculture
Inclusive businesses (IB) in the agribusiness sector promoted by the Board of Investments (BOI) are improving farmers’ skills, increasing their produce and raising their incomes so they can lead better lives, according to a report by the United Nations Development Programme-Business Call to Action (UNDP-CtA) and the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP).
The report also showed that among industries with existing IB models, agribusiness had the most potential because it encompasses agriculture, health, industry and the environment. Agriculture also tops other sectors in terms of the global market share of jobs, data from the International Labor Organization (ILO) showed.
By implementing their IB models, one of the first steps that agribusiness firms took is to build on smallholder farmers’ capacity.
Philippine-based Coffee for Peace (CFP), for example, engaged a community of 72 farming families in Mount Apo. They learned about coffee plantation and processing to improve both coffee volume and quality. After two years of learning from CFP, the community is now building a cooperative and earns around $87,750. Aside from the Mount Apo community, CFP also works with two other community clusters in the Philippines.
“Investing in agriculture is important for us in terms of food security and improving lives for a majority of working Filipinos,” said Trade Undersecretary and Board of Investments (BOI) Managing Head Ceferino Rodolfo. “A closer look at the IB models in the country and the Asean show that empowering the small players deliver both social impact and generate sound investment returns.”
Another example of an agribusiness firm with an IB model is Siam Organic in Northeastern Thailand, where the country’s poorest farmers live and work. Siam Organic works with more than 1,100 impoverished farmers to grow Jasberry rice, providing them with a new variety of non-GMO and antioxidant-rich purple rice. To help the farmers reduce production costs, Siam Organic also trains them on organic planting practices.
