FP Island Energy Corp. and agri-tech startup Agrabah Ventures Inc. have teamed up to uplift the lives of residents on several remote, off-grid islands in Camarines Sur where FP Island operates.
The Lopez-led FP Island and Agrabah officials recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to formalize the collaboration, which will focus primarily on boosting the productivity and competitiveness of farmers, fisherfolk and people’s organizations in the areas FP Island serves.
Under the MOU, FP Island and Agrabah aim to improve and strengthen the agri-aquacultural value chain of FP Island-assisted people’s organizations. They plan to do this by enhancing production capacity and quality and by providing improved financing market access and linkages to these organizations.
As their initial joint project, FP Island will provide funding support or in-kind resources for the capability-building and technical assistance of local seaweed farmers.
The partnership is another step by FP Island to improve living conditions in the off-grid Camarines Sur islands. Before FP Island opened its microgrids—small and localized electricity networks—in 2021, the islands either suffered from long hours of blackouts or the total absence of electricity service.
FP Island vice president Edgardo del Rosario said the partnership aligns with the company’s vision of powering progress.
“By combining our clean energy solutions with Agrabah’s agribusiness integration and market-linkage support, we’re helping local seaweed farmers gain fair market access and strengthen their livelihoods,” del Rosario said.
Agrabah Ventures chief executive Joselito Ocol Jr. said the partnership reflects the commitment of both parties to help off-grid communities.
“This is a testament that partnerships can help communities because it takes a lot of effort and no single entity can do it alone,” Ocol said, adding that by working together the chance of progress in the area is increased.
Agrabah, a platform for trade financing and logistics, connects more than 5,000 farmers and fisherfolk to buyers and clients, ensuring fair profits for producers.
The MOU stipulates that FP Island and Agrabah will coordinate in identifying people’s organizations and designing appropriate capacity-building activities such as training knowledge-sharing and mentoring sessions, to support their development.
Agrabah will provide technical guidance on production and post-harvest practices and share market insights and pricing trends to help communities align their products with market needs. The agri-tech company is also positioned to act as a potential market off-taker or aggregator for products from FP Island–assisted groups.
FP Island, a sister company of leading clean energy provider First Gen Corp., operates microgrids in the off-grid islands of Lahuy Haponan and Quinalasag in Camarines Sur.
Both FP Island and First Gen are subsidiaries of First Philippine Holdings Corp. (FPH), a conglomerate with strong advocacies to protect the environment.
