METRO Pacific Agro Ventures (MPAV), the agribusiness arm of the MVP Group, has assured small farmers in Cebu that large conglomerates entering the agriculture sector are not here to displace them—but to build partnerships that support inclusive growth.
“How do you assure us that you won’t kill the small farmers?”
This was the blunt question raised during the AgriKonek Food Summit’s open forum on Aug. 5, 2025, prompting a direct response from MPAV president and chief executive officer Juan Victor Hernandez, who called for cooperation, not competition.
“We’re not here to take over communities,” Hernandez said. “We’re building an ecosystem where smallholders can thrive alongside us.”
MPAV is working with dairy and corn farmers by offering free extension services and sourcing directly from local producers to meet rising demand for products such as Carmen’s Best ice cream.
The discussion highlighted the Philippines’ overwhelming dependence on imported dairy—99 percent of milk consumed is imported, with 70 percent in powdered form.
MPAV sees both a business opportunity and a social mission here. In partnership with Israeli firms, it has deployed precision dairy farming systems in Luzon and is now transferring that knowledge to nearby local farmers.
“Our vision is to scale from one percent local production to at least 20 percent over time,” Hernandez said. “It won’t happen overnight, but the right partnerships can get us there.”
MPAV is also betting big on controlled-environment agriculture, specifically greenhouses capable of producing high-quality vegetables year-round. Its first facility in Bulacan is already operating, with new projects in the pipeline for El Nido, Benguet and Cebu.
Each greenhouse, priced at around P30 million, is built for premium yields of leafy greens like lettuce, a crop still widely imported despite local demand.
“What’s new isn’t the technology—it’s applying it at scale,” said Hernandez. “Restaurants and hotels now want quality they can rely on. Controlled farming delivers that.”
While MPAV brought the capital and tech, Pestales (People’s Ecosystem for Societal Transformation, Advanced Leadership and Economic Sustainability) says they nurtured agriculture with a heart.
Led by chairperson Jane Entoy, Pestales is a 170-member cooperative in Cebu that runs a self-sustaining agri-livelihood system. Built on backyard gardening, shared marketing and youth training, Pestales provides more than just income; it offers housing, education and purpose.
Pestales is now a certified organic farm, an ATI-accredited learning site and a Tesda-accredited farm school, partnering with institutions to cultivate the next generation of farmers.
Access, growth prospects
Moreover, the question of access remains critical for remote areas like Camotes Islands, where infrastructure is limited.
Hernandez acknowledged the rollout is uneven but said it is working with Land Bank and local governments to design area-specific investment plans. Future models could include greenhouse financing and tech-sharing tailored to island municipalities, once logistics and market access are addressed.
Meanwhile, startups like Arka and RainTable are developing digital supply chains and grassroots tech like low-cost rain shelters, aiming to make farming more resilient and profitable. They emphasized the need for branding to help Filipino products fetch premium prices locally and abroad.
Growth expectations were a recurring theme. For large-scale industries like dairy and cacao, speakers noted the need for faster expansion to meet global demand.
“If we want to be globally competitive, we need to grow faster and smarter,” said Justine Lynn Limocon, business development center operations manager of Lamac Multi-purpose Cooperative. “Technology, clustering and value-added processing are our tickets to scale.”
MPAV originally planned to build 10 greenhouses over five years — but following a visit from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., that target was revised to just two years.
“We were inspired by the President’s deep understanding of agri-tech. He gave us the push to fast-track,” Hernandez said.
He added that just as the business process management sector flourished through public-private synergy, agriculture could follow suit.
“It’s time we apply the same model to our farms,” he said. “Not just to feed the nation, but to empower it.”
Over 400 participants gathered at the Cebu Provincial Capitol Social Hall on Aug. 4–5, 2025, for the Agri’Konek Food Summit 2025.PH, a flagship initiative of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Department of Agriculture-Central Visayas, Philippine Inno Ventures Agriculture Cooperative in collaboration with the Cebu Province, the City of Cebu and the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The summit spotlighted collective strategies to ensure food safety, security and sustainability across the Visayas. / KOC