Farm-to-canteen platform catches eye of Ayala

Summer internship ended on a high note for four of Ayala Corp.’s interns as they took home not just the experience of working for an Ayala company, but also the grand prize of the first Ayala Group Interns Innovation League (Agile), a competition sponsored by the conglomerate for participants of the 11th Ayala Group Summer Internship Program.

From over 20 teams, the group of Alexander Go Tian, Joe Diether Cabelin (both from the University of the Philippines), Jose Karlo Pascual (University of Asia and the Pacific) and Maria Betina Ramos (Ateneo de Manila University) was hailed winner for its innovative business idea: Paglago, a “farm-to-kitchen” sales platform that ensures that farmers receive fair compensation for their products by connecting them directly to canteen or small restaurant owners.

Aside from Paglago, five other groups were chosen to present their business ideas before Ayala executives, who served as judges, at the recent Agile finals held in Taguig City: TopTap, an app which creates more seamless and cashless transactions in MRT and LRT stations; Globe Up, a mesh network system that brings free internet access to remote rural communities; BeepBeep, a cashless payment system for parking in Ayala Malls; LightHouse, a solar-powered electricity kit for rural homes; and Pulso, a heart health app.

John Philip Orbeta, chief human resource officer and head of corporate resources, says Paglago won for its simplicity and clarity.

“The team really thought through their target stakeholders and worked the value chain,” Orbeta says. “It also addresses a great need and will try to bring our feudal, fragmented and oppressive system into the digital age and help solve a longstanding social injustice.”

Pascual explains how Paglago’s system works: Farmers register on the platform and upload information about their harvest simply through SMS (short message service), allowing them to use basic mobile phones. They are also asked to indicate the yield amount they are capable of producing. Once production and harvest are done, the farmers then deliver their produce to designated drop-off centers, where a quality assurance officer will check and pick out those do not meet proper quality standards.

“[Farmers] are paid for the produce that have passed [quality control], but they will definitely be paid more than what they would usually receive through the traditional supply value chain,” Pascual says. “They will also receive farming tips and weather advisories [via the platform] so that they can plan their production more efficiently. We don’t simply introduce the system and leave them.

We take care of our partner farmers.”

Canteen/restaurant owners, for their part, can access Paglago for free through a smartphone app. The app allows them to see which produce are in season and available, the individual prices and the farmers’ profiles.

Pascual says they can select certain produce packages, as well as the time and day they want items to be delivered. The app also features order and inventory tracking. Payment is processed through GCash.

At the start of the competition, interns were asked to respond to this challenge: How can Ayala use its assets across the group to provide a sustainable solution that can bring an underserved market toward a superior quality of life?

It was Cabelin who suggested that their team’s solution focus on farmers, who remain underserved because of the barriers they face in the current market, such as middlemen. Go Tian’s father’s canteen business inspired them to choose small food establishments as Paglago’s clients.

“The platform is designed with long-term sustainability in mind. And although there are other ‘farm-to-doorstep’ options, ours is tailored specifically for small food establishments, with the farmers as our main beneficiary. It’s more farmer-centric; we also plan to give them access to affordable loans when they partner with us,” Pascual says. “In the end, however, it’s more than just fair compensation we provide. The platform gives farmers the chance to thrive, send their kids to school, get a better house, learn more effective farming techniques and so much more. The platform aims to bring the lucrative spotlight back to the agriculture industry.”

As part of their prize, Ayala Corp. will continue to develop the winning team’s business idea—and will automatically offer the four interns posts in the conglomerate.

Aside from the P50,000 cash prizes, they will also be flown to Hangzhou, China, for an immersion trip to the offices of Alibaba and Ant Financial.

Given the competition’s success, Orbeta says Ayala will most likely be making Agile an annual event for their interns.