IN the worst days of Covid-19, the economic impacts rippled ruinously across communities throughout the Philippines. Such was the case of an entire farming community in barangay Zumigui in Luna, Apayao, which struggled as selling prices of their traditional monocrop product—rice—kept dropping.
The Dumapay family, rooted in the community, enjoined their relatives, lifelong friends, and neighboring farmers to revisit another product naturally abundant in the area but largely ignored: coconuts.
Fast forward to April 2022, and Dumapayo Farms Corporation (DFC) was born: with a company brand fusing family name and their treasured Apayao heritage, and the proponents and co-founders Reynold and Judith Dumapay envisioning, “to honor God as we enable farmers in the countryside to experience a better life through sustainable secondary crops.” Regionally, DFC has effectively pioneered high-value coconut-based production and processing in Apayao; over the long-term, DFC seeks to establish Apayao as the “Coconut Capital of the North.”
Enter the incubator
Bucking twin challenges—the typical attrition rate of Philippine MSMEs, and the cumulative economic effect of the pandemic and lockdown measures—Dumapayao Farms found a holistic enabling environment. First to throw support was the local government, led by the office of Mayor Josephine Bangsil of Luna, Apayao; Rep. Eleanor Bulut-Begtang, the lone congresswoman of the province, and the Provincial Government of Apayao, led by Gov. Elias Bulut Jr.
Because the company was new to its first and flagship product, Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO), national government representatives filled in crucial gaps.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) provided the list of accredited suppliers of the VCO cold processed machines, and assisted DFC’s participation in the 2023 Philippine Food Expo Exhibition.
An attached corporation of the DA, the Philippine Coconut Authority spearheads the development of the country’s coconut and other palm oil industry to their full potential. The Dumapays’ firm, now registered under the PCA, has a suite of benefits, including access to important updates (especially trade trends and policies) on the local and global coconut markets, and support in terms of endorsement to potential domestic and foreign buyers.
For its part, the Department of Trade and Industry’s DTI-Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) office offered robust support, including intellectual property training to protect the firm’s corporate and product brands (Dumapayao Farms Corp. and Zumigui Gracefield, respectively).
For actual product development, marketing, and distribution support, the DTI backed DFC via three programs in the agency’s extensive assistance ecosystem: DTI Apayao’s ONE TOWN, ONE PRODUCT (OTOP) Philippines, a priority stimulus program for efforts to capacitate MSMEs—“OTOPreneurs ”—to innovate and produce market-ready products and services; ARISE Plus Philippines, which aims to foster inclusive economic growth and poverty reduction through improved international trade performance and competitiveness; and, through efforts of the Export Marketing Bureau. The DTI was also added in DFC to form part of the CAR contingent in regional, national, and international-scale events, the most recent being the International Food Exhibition (IFEX) Philippines held last May 10-12.
The Department of Science and Technology (DOST), meanwhile, provided technical assistance: earlier, on DFC’s coconut vinegar production, and most recently, for the development of the Zumigui Gracefield all-natural coconut flour product. DOST funneled the latter grant through its Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program (SETUP).
Equally important, the agency, particularly through its DOST Apayao office, also provides training and mentoring for the DFC farming and production team, the majority of whom are members of Apayao’s local Indigenous People (IP) community.
From ‘crab mentality’ to ‘coconut mentality’
Even with multi-agency and LGU support, however, a number of businesses fail to thrive due to unfair practices of direct competitors: another example of the notorious Filipino “crab mentality” of pulling others down. However, DFC’s Reynold and Judith Dumapay discovered to their relief and surprise that the Philippines’ main trade group for VCO, Virgin Coconut Oil Producers and Traders Association of the Philippines Inc. (or VCO Philippines), were, in their own experience, “incredibly supportive, and we received a lot of mentoring, and even practical tips such as the distinctions between [VCO centrifuge] machine types and brands.”
Also a welcome partner in the entire growth journey for MSMEs such as DFC: large enterprises and their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arms that invest in other forms of capability building. In DFC’s case, BPI Foundation, Inc sponsored mentoring sessions through its BPI Sinag Synergy business challenge for social enterprises. DFC emerged as one of the top 25 out of the initial field of 59 finalists, and thus qualified for the program’s Online Bootcamp.
Luna’s local brand meets global markets
AS a relatively new social enterprise rooted in the second-class municipality of Luna, Apayao, DFC further benefited from the two-pronged support from DTI—through the agency’s on-ground, grassroots business development support, and through DTI’s Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM). As the DTI’s export promotion arm, CITEM counts IFEX Philippines 2024 as just one in its wide roster of promotional programs and activities.
CITEM focuses on developing, nurturing, and promoting globally competitive small and medium enterprises (SMEs), exporters, designers, and manufacturers by implementing an Integrated Approach to Export Marketing in partnership with other governments and private entities.
As DFC’s case demonstrates, CITEM fills this very vital link for the company, and many other community-based and social enterprises in the Philippine regions: a fast track to connect with key players in the export markets.
All these illustrate how a well-rounded approach in government support—with strategic synergies between and among agencies, regional offices, and the local government units, plus highly-targeted and relevant interventions from large enterprises—can go a long way in ensuring that embryonic businesses can get their footing, become stable, and thrive with resilience.
Image credits: Contributed photo