Joey Concepcion believes will mark a significant milestone for the Philippine private sector’s role in the country’s agricultural competitiveness and food security.

Yovel East Research and Development Inc., one of the pioneer “big brother” agriculture companies of Go Negosyo’s Kapatid Angat Lahat sa Agri Program (KALAP), signed an MOA with the Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) and an MOU with Malaysia’s Bornion Green SDN BHD last January 14 and 16, 2025, respectively.

Yovel East’s agreement with LANDBANK combines the company’s expertise in farm clustering under its We Will Rice program and LANDBANK’s financial support through its Agrisenso Plus Lending Program. The signing with Bornion Green, meanwhile, leverages the complementary durian harvesting seasons in the Philippines and Malaysia and harnesses the expertise and resources of both countries.

Go Negosyo has been instrumental in strengthening private sector participation in the development of MSMEs through its various programs promoting MSME access to money, markets, and mentorship. Concepcion has shared this advocacy in the ASEAN region through his chairmanship of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (BAC) Philippines. “The connections made by ASEAN BAC Malaysia were crucial in paving the way for this important partnership in durian,” he said. “We look forward to facilitating similar agreements with the private sector of the other ASEAN member-states.”

Yovel East is one of Go Negosyo’s “big brother” companies under KALAP, which aims to integrate small farmers into big agriculture corporations’ value chains to increase their productivity and profitability. It is also a participant in the ASEAN Food Security Alliance (AFSA), which encompasses several private sector initiatives to enhance regional cooperation on agriculture and food security and which was also formed by Concepcion as part of its planned legacy project for ASEAN BAC for the Philippines’s chairmanship of the ASEAN in 2026.

Concepcion remarked that Yovel’s agreement with LANDBANK is an encouraging sign that banks and financial institutions can be given the confidence to lend to farmers once assured of sustainability, predictability, and a dependable business model. He added, however, that it is time for financial institutions to change their mindset about lending to farmers and view agriculture as a profitable business.

Under its We Will Rice program, Yovel East was able to provide and finance farmers, supplying everything from seeds, chemical inputs, fertilizers, machineries, and even daily cash and labor costs to help the farmers survive. Eventually, Yovel was able to extend this service to buying back and marketing the farmers’ produce. Yovel East now has thousands of farmers in its fold.

Concepcion observed that the agreement with Bornion is timely, as Malaysia and the Philippines can now meet the global demand for durian year-round. “The plantations will be in the Philippines, hopefully giving employment to more Filipinos and putting to good use the many farmlands that are suitable for durian planting,” he said.

“With these agreements, we give the farmers under Yovel East’s management access to money, markets, and mentorship, the three essentials of successful entrepreneurship which we emphasize in our work at Go Negosyo,” said Concepcion.