Rural Rising—the agri-business social enterprise saving farmers

It started with one Facebook post—now, Rural Rising co-founders Ace and Andie Estrada have moved over 2 million kilograms of produce, helped 4,500 farmers nationwide, and fostered a community with over 40,000 members

In the early stages of the COVID-19 lockdowns, Baguio City residents Ace and Andie Estrada witnessed countless farmers grieve over their harvests. Blocked by strict borders and unforgiving regulations, these small-scale farmers were unable to fulfil the routes needed to sell their crops. Many had no choice but to give away their produce or even dig graves for their surplus, leaving them and their families with no income. Meanwhile, impoverished families in metropolitan areas fell ill, unable to afford the surge in prices for the diminished supply of fruits and vegetables.

“When we saw what was happening—that so much food was being thrown away while whole communities in Metro Manila were growing hungry, that farmers were in despair while there was a very high demand for fruits and vegetables everywhere—we knew we had to do something,” Ace shares. With a heartfelt Facebook post, the Estradas would launch what is now known as Rural Rising—their family-run social enterprise that enables farmers to sell their produce at a fair price, helps farmer families close the loop of debt, offer consumers produce at cheaper prices, champions native crops, and donates to communities in need, all in one.

“Rural Rising is a child of the pandemic,” Estrada explains. “My wife Andie and I were not even remotely involved in agribusiness before we started Rural Rising—we were educators and business owners.” In the years prior, Ace and Andie ran TESDA school Vivixx Academy and owned the coworking and startup incubation hub Calle Uno Coworking Space, among many other ventures. Then in April 2020, the city of Baguio implemented the Philippines’ strictest COVID-19 lockdown under the leadership of Mayor Benjie Magalong, the designated COVID-19 contract tracing czar.

“Because of the EECQ (Extensive Enhanced Community Quarantine), traditional bulk buyers from Manila were turned back at the military/police checkpoints at the boundaries of Baguio,” Estrada recalls. “The farmers, on the other hand, [had to pass sacks of produce] over the boundaries of towns, sometimes three times. If they insisted on passing through, they were allowed back only after a two-week quarantine in tents. As a result, the prices of vegetables skyrocketed in Metro Manila during the early days of the pandemic—and conversely, the farmers started giving or even throwing away their produce by the tons.”

Photo 1 of 2

Photo 2 of 2 The Facebook post that started it all

The Estradas took to Facebook to voice their concerns, even sharing that a frustrated farmer was forced to dump his rotting carrots into a ravine before taking his own life. In the viral post, the couple also volunteered to “collect the produce from the farmers and transport it to the borders of Benguet, where empty trucks from Manila shall be waiting to buy them at farm gate prices.” “By doing this,” they explained, “we can ease not only the burden of local farmers but also that of consumers in Metro Manila who are forced to pay increasingly higher prices for highland vegetables.”

Using a red-plated truck rented from the provincial government, they were able to pass the many military checkpoints from Baguio to Metro Manila and sell the produce at a minimum. “Our selling price was what we paid to the farmers plus only our cost to transport the produce (fuel and salary of driver),” Estrada proudly shares. “Right now, all produce sold by Rural Rising are priced way below Balintawak and Divisoria wholesale prices and many times cheaper than grocery store prices. More importantly, they are fresh. By eliminating the many layers of middlemen, not only is the produce very cheap but it is also very fresh, often in the hands of our members within 24 hours or less upon harvest.”

In the beginning, they would unload produce wherever they could in Metro Manila—“along EDSA and side streets, in empty lots or abandoned gas stations, at basketball courts or barangay halls,” says Estrada, who runs the operation remotely from Baguio. “We were often chased away by police and barangay tanods or prevented from entering pre-arranged drop-off points because there was a sudden COVID-19 outbreak in the neighbourhood. Sometimes the meetups with the buyers were unsuccessful, and the trucks would return to Baguio with the produce still in there. The produce ended up being thrown away—we failed to save it and it broke our hearts.”

Then, they came to a turning point. “San Miguel Corporation offered us free use of an unused property in UP Village, Diliman, and that gave us a home in Metro Manila (RuRi House).” Ayala Corporation then offered free locations at the Alabang Town Center Mall in Alabang (RuRi South) and at the Avida Towers Centera in Mandaluyong (RuRi Central), allowing Rural Rising to further expand its network.

Now, the Rural Rising Facebook group has over 40,000 member buyers, and their Facebook page boasts 179,000 followers. It has become a point of pride to participate in Rural Rising’s “rescue buys”, which not only makes healthy eating more accessible at a far more affordable cost, but also help locals and small-scale farmers in the process. These rescue buys call attention to produce that need saving—those that would otherwise go to waste. Additionally, they are supplemented by a brief post that shares the farmer’s story and explains the gravity of the situation with photos of the farmer and their produce. “People connect to these stories because they know who they are helping, what they are getting, and how difficult sometimes it is to get it,” Estrada relates. Rural Rising also offers “Group Buys”, wherein consumers can purchase produce in advance of harvest, as well as “Growth Buys”, which fund a farmer with seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, and other farm expenses, with the guarantee to then purchase the harvest at a fair price.

Since their viral Facebook post, the Estradas and the steadily growing Rural Rising team have moved over 2 million kilograms of produce, providing direct help to 4,500 farmers across Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. They now have four locations in Metro Manila, as well as vegetable buying centres in Baguio, Gabaldon (Nueva Ecija), and Aritao (Nueva Vizcaya), plus a “modest fleet of delivery trucks/vehicles. However, scaling to such a large and fruitful operation faced challenges.

Here, Rural Rising co-founder Ace Estrada divulges some of the biggest hurdles they’ve had to overcome, highlights their biggest successes, and shines a light on the lesser-known produce they’ve uncovered in the process:

Please give us an overview of your operations—how does Rural Rising and your Rescue Buys work?

A distressed farmer or beleaguered cooperative contacts us to request help. This might be because the farmer could not find buyers for their produce due to overproduction; they are stranded in the bagsakan (direct-sell markets) with a truck full of produce that no one wants to buy and the produce is in danger of being dumped; the produce has been rejected by middlemen due to imperfect shape, size, and texture; their buyer cancelled on them; or the buyer is haggling to the point that they would be shortchanged.

We present the farmer’s situation to the members—we write a story and include the pictures and videos the farmers sent us. We then gather the commitment of our Rural Rising members to help, and usually, within 24 hours, we are able to send a rescue truck. The truck loads the produce in the province, and we pay the farmer the price he wants (in some cases two times more). When the truck gets back to Metro Manila, the produce is sent out to the different RuRi branches, where members claim their rescue produce from the branches. As a policy, all produce unclaimed within 24 hours shall be donated to community kitchens and economically depressed barangays like Barangay Tatalon and Barangay Payatas—many members even participate in Rescue Buys to donate the produce themselves. We give delivery riders (who we call “rider heroes”) their vegetables to take home to their families.

Photo 1 of 2

Photo 2 of 2

What are some of the biggest hurdles you’ve had to overcome so far? How have you overcome them?

We personally go to the farthest areas to meet the farmers and offer them better prices for their produce. This earned us the ire of middlemen whose system we have disrupted. We received threats to our safety: “Hindi na kayo makakakalabas sa lugar na yan pag pumasok kayo” [“Should you enter, you might not leave”]. In response, we ask the help of the army to go to the critical areas to load the vegetables to make a statement to everyone the Rescue Buys will go on despite the threat. In addition, we take precautions by posting about our trips only after they’re done.

We are also seriously understaffed. We do not have the resources to pay people—it is an operation run by me, Andie, our children, and members of our family.

What are some of the biggest wins or highlights you’ve enjoyed so far?

We’ve been able to come up with a gamified vegetable shopping game called “Box-All-You-Can Fruits and Vegetables” at the activity centres of AyalaMalls—we have done it in ten malls now.

Tell us about the lesser-known locally-growing produce you’ve discovered through your work with farmers.

We’ve discovered persimmons and kumquat in Mountain Province, abiu in Nueva Vizcaya, black zapote in Ilocos, batwan in Aklan, lipote in Laguna, raspberries in Quezon, seedless avocados in Batangas, black corn and buli in Pangasinan, vitellotte potatoes and violet cabbage in Benguet, bintong in Quirino, and many more.

How do you help farmer families close the loop of debt? What has it been like to be involved in such positive change?

We pay them the right price at all times. We never bargain with them on the price. We sometimes pay the farmers double the farm gate price. This practice allows them to recover the cost to grow (seeds, inputs, and labour), and the cost to harvest (labour and transport). It gives them income, not just “balik puhunan” [breakeven], so they can plant the next crop.

To a limited degree, we have done Growth Buys—we funded select groups of farmers with seed, inputs, and irrigation—and gave them the surety of market and price. The biggest problem of farmers is marketing and market sales, and we have resolved that for them. We hope to expand our Growth Buys to more farmers. We wish we can do more.

In case you missed it: Reframing fine dining: What has to change? An honest conversation with Chef Stephan Duhesme

How can we better support small, local farmers?

By learning to recognise locally-grown produce (smaller, less pretty, but often tastier) and preferring those instead of imported produce (bigger, shinier, nicer-looking), and by participating in the Rescue Buys—Rural Rising buys only from small farmers and subsistence farmers, not contract growers or the large farms.

How can people get involved with Rural Rising?

We’re asking all Filipinos who love their country and value the farmers to join Rural Rising, either by joining the Facebook group or becoming a founder member on our website. You can also subscribe to special content and deals via the RuRi Club Facebook group, and donate to help sustain our efforts. Right now we’re doing a series of private Box-All-You-Cans for different companies, too.

NOW READ

We asked 4 top chefs in the Philippines: can fine dining ever be sustainable?

Netflix’s ‘Hunger’ is a Thai film that triggers debate about food, class, and fine dining pretences

Filipino conservation photographer Gab Mejia shares their favourite photos

Topics

Social Enterprise Agriculture Local Farming Philippines Rural Rising

Tatler Asia

Meet Rural Rising: this social enterprise saved farmers and their produce when they needed it most