Empowering Farmers Through Baking: 2 ARBOs Set for Bakery Soft Opening

Natividad, Pangasinan — Two Agrarian Reform Beneficiary Organizations (ARBOs) in Pangasinan are now fully prepared to launch their bakery businesses, following the receipt of a complete set of baking equipment provided by the Aboitiz Foundation’s Pilmico Animal Nutrition Corporation (PANC), and the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).

The initiative is part of the package provided to members of the Calapugan Agrarian Reform Cooperative (CARe.Co) of Natividad and the Maresma Multipurpose Cooperative (MMPC) of Balungao who recently completed their two-day breadmaking course under Project Farina: Empowering Bakers in North Luzon of the Aboitiz Foundation, Inc., PANC, and the DAR.

Aside from bakery livelihood kits, members of the two ARBOs were also provided with the necessary skills to ensure the sustainability and growth of their new enterprises.

Sally Madriaga, Chairperson of MMPC, expressed the cooperative member's excitement on the bakery's launch: “We’ve dreamed of this for a long time, and now it’s finally here. The bakery kit given to us by Pilmico, Aboitiz Foundation, and DAR will help our cooperative generate daily income, especially if it becomes popular. In our remote area, people are used to eating bread, especially pandesal and buns, with their morning coffee,” she said

Madriaga added that MMPC plans to offer Filipino snacks such as donuts, ensaymada, pan de coco, and even made-to-order pizza. She mentioned that the cooperative aims to hold the soft opening once they have perfected the recipes taught during the training.

DAR Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer Charlotte F. Lasmarias encouraged the MMPC and CARe.Co members to maximize the potential of their new bakery ventures, promising to extend similar projects to other qualified ARBOs.

“DAR’s priority is to improve the lives of our farmers. We are ready to collaborate with other agencies to increase the income of our ARBOs. Our only request is that you take care of and further develop the assistance provided to you. It brings us great joy to serve you, our beloved hardworking farmers,” Lasmarias said

The two Project Farina beneficiaries received their Pilmico Bakery Livelihood Kits after