Jollibee Group Foundation grants scholarship to young farmers

The Jollibee Group Foundation’s agro-enterprise scholarships help young farmers sharpen their technical skills and business acumen so that they can become agro-entrepreneurs capable of supplying institutional buyers such as the Jollibee Group.

The Philippines’ farming population is growing older, raising concerns on who will carry out this critical task in the coming years. The country’s Department of Agriculture cites that the average age of the Filipino farmer is 53 years old and puts the sustainability of the country’s agriculture sector at risk. 

To continue encouraging the youth to be engaged and employed in the agriculture sector, the Jollibee Group Foundation (JGF) provides scholarships to agro-enterprise courses for young farmers. These scholarships are in support of JGF’s Farmer Entrepreneurship Program (FEP), which trains smallholder farmer groups on agro-entrepreneurship, business, and leadership to build their capacities to collectively supply vegetables that meet the standards and requirements of corporate buyers, while ensuring profit.

Sean Kelly Dagusen is one of the 50 agro-entrepreneurship scholars of the Jollibee Group Foundation for 2022. As part of its commitment to promote agriculture to the youth, the JGF has already provided agriculture technical-vocational skills training scholarships to 380 underprivileged youth since 2020.

“I want to be a farmer because I want to help my father, who is a farmer. Thanks to the scholarship, I have learned how to improve our farm and turn it into a sustainable business that provides more income to our family.” ~Sean Kelly T. Dagusen, Youth Farmer and Agro-entrepreneurship Scholar

The Foundation has provided some 380 youth with agriculture technical-vocational skills training scholarships. In 2021, JGF beefed up this initiative by launching one of the country’s first Agro-enterprise National Certificate II Technical-Vocational Course. This was co-developed with Don Bosco and accredited by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). Fifty underprivileged youth were provided with scholarships to participate in the said course, 25 of whom were trained by Don Bosco Training Center in Mati City, the other half is provided through the Sacred Heart Savings Cooperative community-based training center in Galimuyod, Ilocos Sur.

“Since its launch in 2008, we continue to expand the Farmer Entrepreneurship Program's reach to more farmers, partners, and the youth to help steer the agriculture sector toward sustainability. We want to show the youth that there are fulfilling opportunities in the farming sector, especially as agro-entrepreneurs. We want to help farmers earn more by engaging them not only in production, but also in collective marketing. Farmers, especially the young ones, need partners who can journey with them in envisioning and building their agro-enterprises.” ~Gisela Tiongson, JGF Executive Director

This year, JGF will expand the coverage of scholarships through other centers, including community centers and other technical-vocational schools.

“While we address the problems caused by the pandemic, it is imperative for us in the development sector to continue our efforts in equipping our farmers with new concepts of agriculture and business. Through this, we can maximize our production and access to the value chain despite the looming threat on the shortage of farmers.” ~Jaime D. Galanta, Sacred Heart Savings Cooperative Chief Executive Officer

To date, FEP farmers have delivered close to 9 million kilos of vegetables to the Jollibee Group, equivalent to more than USD7 million worth of sales. As of 2021, nearly 20% of the close to 600 FEP farmers from 17 farmer groups directly supplying vegetables to the Jollibee Group belong to the youth sector.

About Jollibee Group Foundation

Jollibee Group Foundation (JGF) is the social development arm of Jollibee Group, one of the fastest growing restaurant companies in the world. JGF's flagship program is the Farmer Entrepreneurship Program, a comprehensive initiative that organizes small-scale farming communities into agro-enterprises nationwide. Since 2008, JGF has helped farmers sharpen their technical and partnership-building skills and business know-how, and has linked them with institutional markets for increased and steady income.

About Jollibee Group

Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC, also known as Jollibee Group) is one of the fastest-growing restaurant companies in the world. It operates in 34 countries, with over 5,900 stores globally with branches in the Philippines, United States, Canada, the People's Republic of China, United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Vietnam, Brunei, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Indonesia, Costa Rica, Egypt, Panama, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan, and India.

 

Jollibee Group has eight wholly-owned brands (Jollibee, Chowking, Greenwich, Red Ribbon, Mang Inasal, Yonghe King, Hong Zhuang Yuan, Smashburger); six franchised brands (Burger King, Panda Express, PHO24, and Yoshinoya in the Philippines; Dunkin' and Tim Ho Wan in certain territories in China); 80% ownership of The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf; and 60% ownership in the SuperFoods Group that owns Highlands Coffee and PHO24.

 

Jollibee Group, through its subsidiary Jollibee Worldwide Pte. Ltd. (JWPL) owns 90% participating interest in Titan Dining LP, a private equity fund that ultimately owns the Tim Ho Wan brand. It also has a joint venture with the THW Group to open and operate THW restaurants in Mainland China. Jollibee Group also has a business venture with award-winning Chef Rick Bayless for Tortazo, a Mexican fast-casual restaurant business in the United States. It has also acquired 51% ownership of Milksha, a popular Taiwanese bubble tea brand.

 

Jollibee Group was named the Philippines' most admired company by the Asian Wall Street Journal for ten years. It was also honored as one of Asia's Fab 50 Companies and among the World's Best Employers and World’s Top Female-Friendly Companies by Forbes. In 2020, Gallup awarded the Jollibee Group with the Exceptional Workplace Award, making it the first Philippine-based company to receive the distinction.

 

Jollibee Group has grown brands that bring delightful dining experiences to its customers worldwide, thus spreading the joy of eating to everyone.

 

To learn more about Jollibee Group, visit www.jollibeegroup.com.