Farmers’ co-ops in Agusan rake in profits from pandemic sales

TURNING the Covid-19 health crisis into opportunity, farmers in Agusan del Norte were able to overcome the challenges posed by the community quarantines and raked in huge profits from farming, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) said.

DAR Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer II (PARPO II) Andre B. Atega said the farmers belonging to various agrarian reform beneficiaries’ organizations (ARBOS) even become more profitable.

Planning Officer and Provincial Project coordinator of the Project CONVERGE or Convergence on Value Chain Enhancement for Rural Growth and Empowerment Annelyn R. Chan, cited the case of the San Isidro Upland Farmers Multi-purpose Cooperative (SIUFMULCO) in Santiago town, which successfully made several deliveries during the lockdown period across Caraga region and earned a gross sale of more than P37 million from abaca fiber sold to a market center in Baybay, Leyte.

“Despite the challenges, deliveries of their products continue. Commendation should also be given to the efforts of DAR partner-agencies on the deliveries of abaca fiber since it is also covered by certifications from the Department of Agriculture [DA], the Department of Trade and Industry [DTI], and the Philippines Fiber Development Authority [PHIL-FIDA],” Chan said in a news statement.

SIUFMULCO Manager Leonila Mila said that the volume traded from March to June reached up to 535.684 metric tons, or a 56-percent increase, compared with 301.38 metric tons in the first quarter of this year, resulting in an earned gross income of P37 million, or 57-percent increase, from a gross sales of P21 million from the first quarter, Mila added.

This was also the case of the Avanceña Beneficiaries Farmers Multi-purpose Cooperative (ABFMC) in Cabadbaran City and Butuan-agusan Farmers Multi-purpose Cooperative (BAFMPC) which continuously supplied milled rice not only to regular markets but also to local government units’ social amelioration program.

Both agrarian cooperatives earned profits by delivering thousands of sacks of milled rice, which made the groups to earn millions of pesos in gross sales.

DAR Program Beneficiaries Development Division (PBDD) Ellen J. Torralba said that these cooperatives have shown extra effort to reach out to their respective buyers where they could sell their produce.

BAFMPC Chairman Sergio Baguhin said, “We managed to deliver 1,600 sacks of milled rice from March 30 to April 6, 2020, which made the co-op earned over P3 million.”

Three more cooperatives, whose entrepreneurship lies on the delivery of assorted vegetables were also able to continuously deliver and sell their produce during the lockdown period.

These cooperatives whose members are certificates of land ownership award holders include the Vegetable Producers Association in Tubay, Agusan del Norte; the Kilometer 7 Producers Cooperative in Butuan City; and the De Oro Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Cooperative of Barangay de Oro, Butuan City.

These three cooperatives also assured the steady supply of vegetables to Butuan City Jail Management and Penology as part of their marketing tie-up arrangement facilitated by DAR under the Enhanced Partnership Againsthungerandpovertyprogram.