The Filipino cut flower industry is one of the country’s sunshine industries. It is regarded as a good area in which to invest as cut flower production is less landintensive and produces high value products. The Philippines’ competitive advantage is attributed to an ideal climate for year-round cultivation, the availability of land and production technologies, competitive wage rates, proximity to major importing countries in Asia-Pacific and active floriculture associations and cooperatives. The cut flower industry in Benguet province, Northern Philippines, has undergone a remarkable transformation over the last seven years when production began to increase with the domestic demand. The growth of the domestic market was brought about by the increasing number of middle- and high-income classes, changing consumer preferences, and the expanding institutional demand driven by the growth of tourism. Consequently vegetable growers began to shift to cut flower production. Benguet is now the major producer of rose, chrysanthemum and gladiolus in the Philippines. This paper documents how organized cut flower growers jointly manage their cut flower−vegetable production systems. The case group is the Valley Cut Flower Growers’ Association. This group, together with two others, was linked by the municipal government to a large multinational agribusiness for contract farming of vegetables, initially fancy lettuce and cherry tomatoes. It was driven by corporate social responsibility and the need to have a buffer crop in case something went wrong with their production programmes. Having stringent product quality requirements, the firm provides technical assistance for the producers in terms of good agricultural practices, aside from providing the seeds. The growers, on the other hand, are mostly cut flower producers who commit a portion of their greenhouse area to produce vegetables. Keen to fulfill their commitments to the firm, the growers have set up their own enabling mechanisms like regular meetings for production planning, information and technology sharing, problem solving and coordination. The challenges seen within this case include how the growers within the case association and among the two other groups work together to meet the volume and quality requirements of the buyers in order to maintain a lasting business relationship and how the local government unit provides the necessary policy support and business environment for both the producers and the buyers.
