From March 11 to March 13, 2025 and as part of the Pathway Diversity activity of Australia National University and Foodlink Advocacy Co-operative, representatives from the private sector were brought to Kalamansig, Sultan Kudarat to assess the feasibility of setting up agribusinesses in the area. Representatives were Ms. Arestina Morados of Pamora Farm, Mr. Anthony Philip A Nocom of ANSA Foundation, and Mr. Masahiko Eguchi and Mr. Christian Javier of Yamaha Motors assessing the area for free-range poultry, cattle-raising, and enhancements in mobility access, respectively.

The team also met with the Office of the Mayor of Kalamansig represented by administrator Gerry Dela Cruz and with SK advisor to the governor Ronan Garcia.

On March 12, 2025, the IVC Philippines team turned over 5 all-weather dryers to the Coffee Farmers Association of Hinalaan (CoFAH). 

From the pangandoy method farming systems analysis (FSA) conducted back in Q3 2022, it was clear that time was a very scarce resource for the coffee farmers of Brgy. Hinalaan. For coffee drying alone, the typical practice would take as long as 30 days before the beans would reach optimal moisture of content of 12%--this is far longer than the FAO standard of drying of 19 days. Such a long drying duration is characterized by a cycle of drying and re-absorption of moisture--this also results in higher incidences of "black beans", or beans that have been infested with molds. 

The AWDs were designed to reduce drying times from 30 days to a target of 14 days (but with the hope of reducing it to 7 days). If successful, this would relieve time-efforts for drying and can be allocated instead for other farming activities but also potentially for non-farm activities such as home domestic activities, other livelihood activities, or even just rest.  

The IVC team met with DTI Cordillera Autonomous Region Director Juliet Lucas to present the project results to date related to the coffee value chain. RD Juliet Lucas and her team leads DTI's coffee industry effort.

The IVC team presented findings from the Pangandoy and FSA, as well as insights on the role of traders in both supporting the farmers of Kalamansig but also how they were pivotal in rapidly changing the landscape for the coffee value chain since the onset of the COVID19 pandemic.

RD Lucas and her gave much appreciation on the results and mentioned that they will be making the results as part of their knowledge hub and will be forwarded to the project team currently developing the coffee roadmap for 2026-2030.  

by Jovie Antiporta (FAC Consultant)

Over the past four years, my involvement with the IVC Project has felt like navigating a maze. Unlike the typical value chain projects I was familiar with, the IVC approach goes beyond simply measuring economic gains. It seeks to understand how each actorperceives the value of their participation and how their relationships contribute to creating a mutually beneficial environment. While tracking the economic side of things, like changes in prices, is pretty straightforward, trying to capture how much someone values their connections and involvement? That’s a whole different ball game which is a lot trickier.

I've noticed that in the vegetable value chain, relationships between actors don't have to be permanent. As soon as a need is met, the "value" of that relationship can shift — everything stays pretty fluid. That said, whether or not needs are actually met really depends on how clearly and strongly each actor can express what they need. Hence, he who has the loudest voice is likely to be heard first.

The PLDT-SMART and Agricultural Training Institute's Digital Farmers Program was conducted in CREMDEC on September 16, 2024. The DFP is a training-of-trainers program designed to increase the technological literacy of farmers so that they could leverage on social media and readily available applications to help improve their farm and agri-business activities.

FAC, on behalf of the ACIAR-funded Inclusive Value Chains Philippines project, signs the MOU with Cebu City LGU on June 10, 2024. Cebu City has accepted the research findings of the IVC project, including those generated from the Pangandoy method, Farming systems analysis, and inclusive value chain analysis. This also paves the way for even more collaborations with Cebu City LGU towards evidence-based, co-designed interventions for Cebu City's vegetable value chain actors and especially the smallholder farmers.

The MOU was signed by Cebu City Acting Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia and FAC General Manager Anton Simon Palo along with witnesses Cebu City Resource Management and Development Center (CREMDEC) Executive Director Allan Bautisa and IVC Philippines project lead and CSIRO representative Michaela Cosijn.

The MOU seeks the formation of a Technical Advisory Group to be initially composed of farmers federations, Cebu City Agriculture Department and the Cebu City Resource Management and Development Center (CREMDEC), along with other private and development sector representatives with the purpose of providing both guidance and support to the implementation phases of the co-designed interventions for Cebu City Farmers, but also to cascade information to their networks and memberships to enhance scale. 

by Mercy Rosetes (FAC) 

The intention of the IVC project was to use Pangandoy as an approach to elicit smallholder farmers' descriptions of their aspirations, the burdens they carry as they attempt to achieve their aspirations, and the coping strategies they use to lighten their loads as they journey towards a comfortable life.

In using the Pangandoy method in the two project sites (Cebu & Sultan Kudarat), the project was able to capture the real stories of our smallholder farmers.  Stories not only about their life as farmers but also their life as husband and wife, father & mother, being a brother or sister, and the role they play in the community.  The stories that were captured were very colorful as they unfolded, too many entangling personal challenges and concerns in health, livelihood, and education, which had never been discussed by farmers even in their own families or households. 

Realizations gained from the IVC project were powerful moments of insight and growth that helped us process and integrate the new understanding in developing and designing appropriate interventions, acknowledging the critical role of community engagement, and sustain the gains of the initiatives through collaboration of various stakeholders in the farming communities.