Pilmico’s corn sourcing program wins Europa Award
Pilmico Foods Corporation, the food and agribusiness subsidiary of the Aboitiz Group bagged the 2021 Europa Award for Sustainable Food and Nutrition for its corn sourcing program “Project Silk.”
Organized by the European Chamber of Commerce Philippines (ECCP), the 2021 Europa Awards seek to promote and recognize companies with exceptional performance and contributions in promoting sustainability in keeping with global standards and the Philippine Development Plan.
Tristan Aboitiz, President and CEO of Pilmico Foods Corporation, accepted the award during a live broadcast on June 10.
“We started Project Silk back in 2017, with the goal to support and empower local corn farmers in Bukidnon by transforming their livelihood into a more sustainable and profitable endeavor. Under the program, the idea was to directly source yellow corn from local farmers’ cooperatives in an effort to secure a portion of our corn requirements for our feed milling business, and to do so at values that reflected the hard work put in by the farmers and their families to raise those crops and get them ready for consumption,” Aboitiz explained.
(File photo) In 2017, Pilmico entered an inclusive corn sourcing program with the Mantibugao Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Farmers Cooperative (MARBFC), a farmers’ cooperative organized in Mantibugao, Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon. Under the agreement, MARBFC will serve a portion of Pilmico’s corn requirements for its various feeds products.
Pilmico also facilitated learning sessions to help develop the financial, entrepreneurial, and managerial competencies of its partners in order to improve their overall business acumen.
During his acceptance, Aboitiz paid tribute to its beneficiary, the Mantibugao Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Farmers Cooperative (MARBFC), and shared that the success of “Project Silk” has led to the launch of similar initiatives in Lanao del Norte and Misamis Oriental.
“I am very proud of the work we’ve done so far and we hope that the successful roll-out in Mindanao will serve as a model for more of these kinds of partnerships being established around the Philippines in the future,” said Aboitiz. Pilmico is also working together with other stakeholders under the government’s Pilipinas Kontra Gutom program, to expand the project by linking other consumers of local corn with more farmer cooperatives and associations.
According to the ECCP, the Europa Award for Sustainable Food and Nutrition recognizes companies that have contributed to the enhancement of the food industry by offering innovative products and services that promote sustainable food systems in the Philippines.
The company remains committed to being a Partner for Growth for the communities, and continuously improves its alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, specifically SDG 2 (Zero hunger) by contributing to the country’s food security. Pilmico is actively promoting environmental, social, governance (ESG) performance to become a driver of positive change through its partnerships with different stakeholders. #
