Farmers urged to form co-ops for better access to DA programs

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Agriculture (DA) is urging more farmers to form cooperatives to enable it to increase provisions under its programs.

Agriculture Secretary Proceso Acala said the DA’s programs would be better implemented if the department is dealing with farmers’ organizations.

“The department has given special attention on the formation of farmers’ organizations and cooperatives because as they are organized, access to resources especially those provided by the government becomes easier and accountability is observed. We now give assistance to groups, not individual farmers,” he said. 

For instance, he said, organized farm workers through the Farm Service Providers (FSP) program are granted machineries for providing land preparation, planting and harvesting services to landowners.

The government has been promoting increased mechanization in farms to lessen the drudgery of manual work as the average age of farmers is now above 50 years.

Increased farm mechanization is also seen to promote greater value-adding in the farm sector and increased recovery of raw materials that would otherwise be lost to the elements through traditional harvesting methods.

Alcala earlier said several farm workers in Central Luzon have been able to organize into FSPs and avail funds through a counterpart funding scheme with the government.

The DA implements a cost-sharing scheme with the government under which the government shoulders 85 percent of the cost of farm equipment and the qualified farmers’ organization shoulders the remaining 15 percent.

Through this financing scheme, landless farmers can avail of various machines like reapers, threshers, transplanters and hand tractors.

Alcala said cooperatives are the preferred channels for technology transfer programs and access to formal forms of credit, both of which are important for creating economies of scale.

“The DA purposefully integrates marketing and value-adding in its programs. Cooperatives are the best conduits for technology transfer and access to capital,” he said.

While the department recognizes the benefits of large-scale corporate farming, the department’s policies remain focused on strengthening the earning capabilities of smallholder farmers by introducing various initiatives for consolidating production areas and finding markets for produce.

Alcala earlier said this is done to build on the gains of agrarian reform and improve the economic conditions of farmers in the countryside especially amid increased competition in the trade of goods and services once the economies of Southeast Asia become fully integrated in 2015.

Sugar block farmers in major sugar production provinces, for instance, are being organized into block farms and are provided technical assistance to increase production.