Marcos: Cooperatives to boost agri production
Published Jun 21, 2023 12:15 am
President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said that his administration was working on providing cooperatives with more funds, new machinery, and technology to boost agricultural productivity.
*President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. (Malacañang photo)*
Marcos said this following the 125th-anniversary celebration of the Department of Agriculture (DA) in Quezon City on June 20. In a media interview, Marcos, who also acts as DA secretary, said a budget was already prepared for the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA). The President added that the agency's funding has been augmented, considering its role in enhancing and strengthening cooperatives in the agriculture sector. “Aasahan natin ang Cooperative Development Authority para sila ang magbubuo ng mga kooperatiba na hindi masyadong matibay pa, patitibayin pa – palalakihin at patitibayin (We will rely on the CDA to create cooperatives that are strong and will continue to strengthen and expand them)," he said. According to the Chief Executive, the role of cooperatives is critical in enhancing the sector's productivity, noting the first step is mechanization to cut the cost of production. Aside from adopting new technologies and farm machinery for production and post-production, President Marcos said another government thrust is consolidating agricultural cooperatives. "The cooperatives, generally speaking, [the] average is 50 to 100 hectares per cooperative. Tapos io-organize pa' yan para maging mas malaki pa, maging (We will organize them to make them bigger, maybe) 1,000, 1,500 hectares – I'm talking about hectares – per overall organization," he explained. However, he noted there is no need to organize all the cooperatives because farmers' cooperatives are already operating, such as irrigators associations and other organizations. Marcos said the government would take advantage of their organization. Mechanization of farm cooperatives' operations aims to help Filipino farmers become competitive with their Asian peers. The government expects to cut production costs and postharvest losses through machinery grants and adoption among the Farmers/Cooperatives/Associations (FCAs).
*President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. (Malacañang photo)*
Marcos said this following the 125th-anniversary celebration of the Department of Agriculture (DA) in Quezon City on June 20. In a media interview, Marcos, who also acts as DA secretary, said a budget was already prepared for the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA). The President added that the agency's funding has been augmented, considering its role in enhancing and strengthening cooperatives in the agriculture sector. “Aasahan natin ang Cooperative Development Authority para sila ang magbubuo ng mga kooperatiba na hindi masyadong matibay pa, patitibayin pa – palalakihin at patitibayin (We will rely on the CDA to create cooperatives that are strong and will continue to strengthen and expand them)," he said. According to the Chief Executive, the role of cooperatives is critical in enhancing the sector's productivity, noting the first step is mechanization to cut the cost of production. Aside from adopting new technologies and farm machinery for production and post-production, President Marcos said another government thrust is consolidating agricultural cooperatives. "The cooperatives, generally speaking, [the] average is 50 to 100 hectares per cooperative. Tapos io-organize pa' yan para maging mas malaki pa, maging (We will organize them to make them bigger, maybe) 1,000, 1,500 hectares – I'm talking about hectares – per overall organization," he explained. However, he noted there is no need to organize all the cooperatives because farmers' cooperatives are already operating, such as irrigators associations and other organizations. Marcos said the government would take advantage of their organization. Mechanization of farm cooperatives' operations aims to help Filipino farmers become competitive with their Asian peers. The government expects to cut production costs and postharvest losses through machinery grants and adoption among the Farmers/Cooperatives/Associations (FCAs).