Agri-Entrepreneur Clustering Initiative
Smart Agri Lab
Smart Agri Lab
Lab Focal Person - Glenn dela Pena
Project Lead - Glenn dela Pena
Partners - MPSU, Jollibee Foundation
The Agri-Entrepreneur Clustering Initiative is a project of the Smart Agriculture Lab of Kakarefin Academy, in collaboration with Jollibee Group Foundation.
The project will help farmers and emerging agri-entrepreneurs in Paracelis organize into enterprise clusters around priority commodities and market opportunities. Instead of supporting producers individually, the initiative encourages them to work together in production, aggregation, processing, logistics, marketing, and access to finance.
The clusters can serve as practical learning platforms where farmers and entrepreneurs work with local government, universities, businesses, and other partners to solve common value-chain challenges. This complements the Smart Agriculture Lab's mandate to develop priority commodity value chains, identify production bottlenecks and market opportunities, and strengthen farmer engagement.
The longer-term goal is to develop locally rooted agri-enterprises that can create better markets for farmers, generate livelihoods, and strengthen the agricultural economy of Paracelis.
Organize farmers and agri-entrepreneurs into commodity-based enterprise clusters that can collaborate in production, aggregation, processing, and marketing.
Strengthen the business capabilities of the clusters through mentoring, market-oriented product development, value-chain partnerships, and access to appropriate technology and finance.
Connect clusters to sustainable markets and institutional partners, including buyers, universities, government agencies, financial institutions, and private-sector partners.