Development sector group Bayan Family of Foundations, in partnership with Philippine agritech startup Mayani, has received philanthropic funding from HSBC Philippines to empower smallholder farmers and fisherfolk through climate-smart agriculture initiatives and sustainable food production.
In the Philippines — where smallholders are responsible for over 70% of the nation’s food supply — farmers and fisherfolk face a dual crisis: they are among the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change and the least equipped to adapt.
Women, in particular, bear a disproportionate burden, according to the United Nations, due to limited access to agricultural training, credit, and reliance on natural resources.
The project will focus on forming clustered, smallholder-led cooperatives that promote regenerative farming practices, integrate indigenous knowledge, adopt inclusive digital tools, and strengthen governance. These cooperatives will be built around principles of sustainability and market readiness.
To scale impact, the program will invest in on-farm infrastructure such as smart greenhouses and precision agriculture systems. It will also produce a cooperative development manual to ensure the model can be replicated nationwide.
“We are pleased to partner with Bayan and Mayani to provide philanthropic funding for climate-smart agricultural capacity building. This partnership aims to support local farmers and fisherfolk in adopting resilient practices, while also enhancing food security in the Philippines,” said Sandeep Uppal, president and CEO of HSBC Philippines.
The initiative supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) — specifically Goal 2 (Zero Hunger), Goal 10 (Reduced Inequalities), and Goal 13 (Climate Action) — while laying the groundwork for investable rural food supply chains.
However, the Philippines still faces a $72-billion climate finance gap in achieving its nationally determined contributions under the Paris Agreement. To bridge this, Mayani is working with Co-Axis of Temasek Trust to attract additional climate co-investments beyond HSBC’s seed capital.
“There are a thousand ways to tackle any systemic issue. History has, however, proven that the power of a community working together towards a common goal can do wonders beyond their expectations. Filipinos equate this with the value of bayanihan,” said Carlo S. Sagun, president and CEO of Bayan Family of Foundations.
“In the taxonomy of organizations, this is best exemplified by the cooperative, which has the upliftment of its members’ lives as its primary objective through its entrepreneurial pursuits. If agricultural cooperatives – numbering in thousands in the Philippines – are effectively mobilized to serve as agents of climate adaptation, social, economic, and even environmental benefits could potentially be delivered to its millions of members.”
The development roadmap targets climate-vulnerable food-producing regions in Luzon and the Visayas this year, with plans to expand to the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) by 2026. BARMM, a region rich in natural ecosystems, is emerging from a fragile peace and presents unique opportunities for climate adaptation, economic recovery, and peacebuilding.
“The sheer gravity and frequency of these climate hazards would eventually require their own nomenclature. As they evolve, we see them as known constants in agriculture, and it’s high-time we tackle them head on,” said Ochie San Juan, co-founder and chief farmer of Mayani, an agritech platform that caters to smallholder farmers and fisherfolf by providing them access to markets, inputs, and credit.
