How 2 young leaders are redefining PH agriculture 

Something’s shifting in the Philippine countryside. A new generation of agricultural innovators refuses to accept the status quo, and two young Filipinos are leading the charge.

Every morning, thousands of smallholder farmers across the Philippines wake up before dawn to tend the land that feeds our nation. Yet despite their backbreaking work, many remain trapped in poverty cycles that have persisted for generations. It’s a cruel irony that those who feed us can barely feed themselves.

But something’s shifting in the countryside. A new generation of agricultural innovators refuses to accept this status quo, and two young Filipinos are leading the charge.

Cherrie Atilano of AGREA and Julieane Camile “Juca” Lacsina of GOEden are both recipients of this year’s Ramon V. del Rosario Siklab Awards. Their work proves that entire sectors can transform when entrepreneurship meets social conscience. Cherrie builds sustainable agricultural communities from the ground up, while Juca uses technology to democratize access to quality farming inputs. There are different approaches, and the same goal is to break the systems that keep farmers poor.

Cherrie’s story with AGREA started with a revelation that seems obvious in hindsight: you can’t have sustainable agriculture without sustainable communities. Her organization now works with over 30,000 smallholder farmers nationwide, helping them increase incomes by 20 to 50%. But the fundamental transformation goes deeper than statistics.

Take what happened in Majayjay. AGREA partnered with Sodexo to connect local farmers directly to institutional buyers, cutting out layers of intermediaries who had been siphoning profits for decades. The results were staggering: the farming community’s collective income jumped from ₱50,000 in January 2023 to ₱5.7 million by December, a more than 100-fold increase that let farmers expand from subsistence plots to 60 hectares of diversified production.

This wasn’t just about getting better prices, though that certainly helped. It was about fundamentally changing how farmers see themselves and their potential. When you’ve been told that farming means poverty, proving otherwise becomes revolutionary.

Through programs like the AGREA Farm School and the Women Food Producers Association, Cherrie has created a “One Island Economy” model. It’s a comprehensive ecosystem thinking that addresses farming techniques, financial literacy, market access, and community empowerment. She understands that lasting change requires tackling systemic issues, not just treating symptoms.

While Cherrie builds communities, Juca tackles the supply chain inefficiencies that have long disadvantaged Filipino farmers. GOEden has now served nearly 100,000 farmers across 240 municipalities in 72 provinces, giving them access to over 4,500 agricultural products through their e-commerce platform.

The problem Juca identified sounds almost mundane until you consider its devastating impact: farmers often had to visit multiple stores to complete their input requirements, spending up to ₱5,000 on travel costs before even buying seeds, fertilizers, or pesticides. The challenge got worse in remote areas with limited product availability and constant worries about fake products.

GOEden’s solution demonstrates how technology can level playing fields. The company eliminated geographical barriers by consolidating suppliers on one platform with nationwide delivery from Batanes to Tawi-Tawi while implementing strict quality controls. Their zero-return rate on agricultural products isn’t just good business; it’s protection against the fraudulent practices that have exploited farmer vulnerabilities for too long.

What makes both leaders compelling isn’t just their business success; it’s their understanding that agricultural transformation requires systemic change. Neither is satisfied with building profitable companies while leaving broken systems intact.

Cherrie actively challenges narratives that diminish farming as a profession. Her team confronts the mindset that farmers are “just farmers” or inevitably “the poorest of the poor.” Instead, they demonstrate that farmers could be among our economy’s richest contributors. This narrative shift matters enormously when farmers see dignity and potential in their work; they invest differently in their futures.

Juca’s commitment to transparency and accountability is equally essential to institutional reform. Despite facing personal security threats from corrupt officials, GOEden maintained its zero tolerance for corruption, escalating concerns to oversight bodies and contributing to broader governance reforms in agriculture.

Profit and purpose

These stories matter because agriculture remains central to Philippine development. Food security affects every Filipino family. Rural development patterns influence urbanization, employment, and social stability. When agricultural communities thrive, entire regions benefit.

The pandemic highlighted these connections dramatically. During lockdowns, AGREA’s Move Food Initiative rescued and distributed over 200,000 kilograms of produce, addressing urban food security while generating rural income. GOEden’s platform ran agricultural operations when traditional supply chains collapsed, ensuring farmers could access essential inputs during the most restrictive periods.

Both organizations prove that private sector innovation can achieve public good outcomes when guided by clear social missions. Their success challenges the false choice between profit and purpose, especially in sectors as foundational as agriculture.

The work of Cherrie and Juca represents more than individual achievement. It shows what becomes possible when we invest in agricultural innovation and treat farmers as partners rather than beneficiaries. Their approaches to sustainable community development and technology-enabled supply chain transformation provide blueprints that could be replicated across different regions and agricultural systems.

For business leaders and policymakers, their stories offer practical lessons about how private sector engagement can address market failures while creating sustainable business models. For investors, they demonstrate that agricultural technology and community development can generate both financial returns and measurable social impact.

Their work reminds us that the farmers who feed our nation deserve more than sympathy. They deserve respect, investment, and commitment to creating systems that help them thrive. The quiet revolution happening in Philippine agriculture isn’t just about better farming techniques or more efficient supply chains. It’s about recognizing and unlocking the potential that has always existed in our rural communities.

The question isn’t whether we can afford to invest in agricultural innovation, it’s whether we can afford not to. In a country where agriculture feeds the nation, the success of our farmers ultimately determines our success. – Rappler.com

Dr. Joseph Emil N. Santos is an assistant professor in the Department of Marketing and Advertising at the Ramon V. Del Rosario College of Business, De La Salle University.