The Ayala Coop has ventured farther into the world of farming, following up on a trail-blazing agreement earlier in August when it signed a similar agreement last September 21 in El Nido, Palawan.
The tripartite agreement, forged this time with the Palawan ARC Cooperative Federation (PARCOFED) and Ayala-led company Ten Knots Development Corporation (TKDC), further strengthens an advocacy-cum-business development venture for the Ayala Coop involving the Corporate Rice Farming Program (CRFP), which is part of a comprehensive poverty alleviation program being promoted by the Department of Agriculture “to help farmers generate more income by engaging institutional buyers.”
Partnership
Under the agreement, the Ayala Coop, leading the Ayala Group of Companies, would forge a partnership with the PARCOFED, the accredited farm service provider of the DA in this case, by buying the rice produced by the PARCOFED based on the order of the TKDC, the partner company under the Ayala Group. The Coop would then sell the reasonably-priced and quality rice being offered and supplied by the PARCOFED to the TKDC.
All three parties in the agreement also agreed to help the CRFP by providing feedback and recommend ways to further improve the program, the partnership and the systems being implemented in it based on their experiences.
Signatories
Signing the agreement, which was formalized at the Event’s Place Casa Kalaw in El Nido, Palawan, were Ayala Coop General Manager Dina Orosa, PARCOFED Chairman Raymundo Imaysay, TKDC President Javier Hernandez, and Marc Cerqueda, TKDC Director for Operations.
Witnessing the signing were DA Undersecretary for Finance Atty. Francisco Villano Jr., DA MIMAROPA Regional Director Louella Rowena Lorenzana, Ayala Foundation Inc. President Ruel Maranan, and AFI’s Senior Director for Programs Joanna Duarte.
First agreement
Earlier last August, the Ayala Coop also signed the first such agreement in Iloilo City, this time with Iloilo-based coop Dingle Multi-Purpose Cooperative and Ayala-owned Seda Atria Hotel, which served as the institutional buyer in this case.
The latest agreement is a demonstration of the Ayala Coop’s long-term commitment to the DA program. During the first signing in Iloilo City, Ms. Orosa committed the Coop’s support and participation in the project to ensure the success of the trail-blazing partnership that was forged at the time. She also expressed her intention to promote the program before other Ayala companies nationwide and to enable the Ayala Coop to provide assistance to farm service providers.
