Insider Spotlight
Jollibee Group Foundation (JGF), the social development arm of Jollibee Group, received the Outstanding CSR Project in Enterprise Development award at the 2026 League of Corporate Foundations CSR Guild Awards, the company said in a news release.
The recognition was given for JGF's Agri-Tech Facilitators (ATF) Program, which equips farmer leaders to become local champions of agricultural innovation.
Why it matters
The program shifts agricultural extension from expert-led training to farmer-led knowledge sharing, helping communities adopt climate-smart technologies that can improve yields and strengthen resilience.
Instead of depending solely on periodic technical support from external experts, the ATF Program develops farmer leaders into community-based facilitators who identify, test, adapt and promote climate-smart farming technologies within their cooperatives and local communities.
Gisela Tiongson, president of Jollibee Group Foundation, said: “The most meaningful innovations are those that communities can understand, adapt, and sustain themselves.
“Through the Agri-Tech Facilitators Program, farmer leaders are not only learning new technologies, but also becoming mentors, problem-solvers, and trusted sources of knowledge within their communities,” Tiongson said.“By enabling farmers to lead the adoption and share locally relevant solutions, we create lasting impact that extends far beyond individual farms. We share this recognition with our farmer leaders and our partners, whose commitment continues to strengthen and build more resilient farming communities.”
The details
The ATF Program forms part of JGF's flagship Farmer Entrepreneurship Program, which helps smallholder farmers become more competitive while supplying institutional markets, including the Jollibee Group.
Since its pilot rollout, the initiative has trained and certified 18 farmer leaders who have implemented 14 demonstration projects covering rain shelters, greenhouse production, drip irrigation, vermicomposting and green manuring.
Their demonstrations and peer-learning sessions have also reached more than 200 additional farmers.
Implemented with Ateneo de Cagayan–Xavier University, Central Luzon State University and the University of the Philippines Los Baños, the program combines classroom instruction, fieldwork, mentoring and community practicum while strengthening agricultural extension and technology adoption.
By the numbers
A rain shelter project in Laguna increased marketable cabbage production from 30 kilograms in open-field conditions to 174 kilograms under protected cultivation while reducing the growing period to 90–105 days. Also shown is a greenhouse technology that increased tomato yield by 79 percent, cut production cost per kilogram by 32 percent and nearly increased net income tenfold compared with open-field farming.
The bottom line
Beyond the award, JGF's farmer-led model is building local agricultural champions who can accelerate technology adoption, improve climate resilience and expand smallholder farmers' access to institutional markets. —Princess Daisy C. Ominga| Ed: Corrie S. Narisma
