"MAGTANIM ay 'di biro," goes a popular saying in the Philippines. Yet, the reality for many of our farmers is far from amusing. In a nation where more than a third of the population relies on agriculture for their livelihood, it is disheartening to see that those who till the soil and provide us with sustenance often remain trapped in a cycle of poverty. This stark reality is what drives many social entrepreneurs to venture into the agricultural sector, seeking to create inclusive growth and empower farming communities.
However, as our recent study, "Farming is not a joke: The entrepreneurship ecosystem of agricultural social enterprises," published in Emerald's Social Responsibility Journal, reveals the path to success for these agricultural social enterprises is not without its challenges. The authors from De La Salle University, Angelica Marie Therese Lorenz, Peter Padre, Joanna Kathleen Ramos, Adrian Mabalay, Patch Aure, and Angelique Blasa-Cheng, explored the entrepreneurship ecosystem of agricultural social enterprises in the Philippines, focusing on the interactions between policy, culture, supports, and human capital domains. What we found was a complex tapestry of strengths and disconnects. As we note, "each domain functions effectively individually, disconnects exist when interacting collectively as an ecosystem."
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