By Michael Vincent D. Cajulao
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Aug. 2 (PIA) – “To help and assist the farmers is our ultimate goal”, Ms. Conchita Taclain, Board Member of Danlugan Farmers Multi-Purpose Cooperative based in Pagadian City, said.
Ms. Taclain was invited by the Department of Trade and Industry-9 (DTI) to share the cooperatives history, the ups and downs, and finally their success as a cooperative, during the Regional Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Caravan last month.
The coop started in April 5, 1994 when 28 farmers from Barangay Danlugan, Pagadian City decided to come together with the purpose of freeing them from economic exploitation by unscrupulous capitalists preying on low income individuals like them, with a measly capital of P5,600.00, but enough for them to start anew.
“We started with 28 founding members, and we are proud to say that we now have 1,000 regular and associate members”, Ma’am Conchita said.
They started with a small consumer store. After over a year of operation, the founding members decided to formally register their cooperative with the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA), and in July 13, 1996, they were granted their legal identity, she recalled.
However, the road to success, just like any other businesses, is not all bed of roses.
“There were many ups and downs that we experienced. It was really not always good for us”, she said.
It was in 1998 that the coop experienced its first-ever serious setback caused by mismanagement brought about by defective recordings and inadequate operating policies. It was really very bad that it brought the coop on the brink of closing. Fortunately, the Pagadian City Cooperative Development Office (PCCDO) came to its rescue, helping the cooperative to rise above the crisis.
In 2002, with the help of PCCDO, the coop underwent reorganization, with a full time manager appointed for the first time to oversee its operation. After a year, the coop regained momentum, overcoming its predicament, and the coop never looked back since.
With a well organized system now in place, assistance coming from both the government and private sector poured in, further strengthening the cooperative.
In 2006, PCCDO endorsed the cooperative to be the beneficiary of a dairy project being implemented by the National Dairy Authority, granting them 60 heads of Holstein Shawl dairy cows direct from New Zealand and distributing those to qualified farmer-members. The following year, on January 31, 2007, the Pagadian Dairy Fresh, wholly owned by the cooperative, came to being.
In order to meet the mounting credit needs of its increasing membership the cooperative sought assistance from LANDBANK and was able to access a P 1,000,000.00 credit line for rediscounting in September 2006. This credit facility steadily increased over time in accordance to its needs and absorptive capacity. As of its latest renewal in 2010, the credit reached P18.6 million.
The Department of Science and Technology-9 granted P200,000.00 aid for the project, and has also approved P484, 750.00 soft loan for the acquisition of milk processing equipments.
The coop also received a P100,00.00 donation from the Filipino Community based in Melbourne, Australia, with the local government of Pagadian City pitching in P30,000.00.
In 2008, through the technical assistance from LAND BANK, the cooperative launched its member’s savings operation.
With all the good things falling into place, the coop was named “Rising SME Star” by DTI last year.
As of December 31, 2011, the cooperative membership now has 1000 regular and associate members, employing 21 staffs. Its total assets have also ballooned to P30 million with a net worth of P5, 530,784.55. Internal fund mobilization has increased to P5 million in capital build up and a total member’s deposit balance of P4, 561, 190.35. It also gained an undivided net surplus of P1, 618, 224.57, with dairy cow stock at last count stands at 147 heads, making it the only cooperative in Region IX producing and processing dairy products. Their product is the now being used in the government’s Program for school children and pre-schoolers.
Danlugan Farmers Multi-Purpose Cooperative has now also ventured into organic fertilizer production, and actively promoting organic farming among farmer-members.
Aside from these successes, DFMPC is also a consistent nominee for GAWAD PITAK and a recipient of incredible magnitude of grants and credit line. Thru the effort of the coop officers, DFMPC was able to get financial grant From Sagip Saka program of Sen. Francis Pangilinan amounting to P 1,000,000.00 aimed to facilitate the agricultural assistance of the coop. Grants coming from Land O’ Lakes Foundation were also approved recently for upgrading of the dairy facilities amounting to P1.4 million.
With due regards to its affiliation, the DFMPC is a bona fide member of some recognized financing institution, like MASS-SPECC, among others. Credit lines are also consistently increasing coming from UCPB and Land Bank.
DFMPC has also prepared a development plan for expansion of the cooperative in the near future.
“We already have a development plan, and we hope to start expansion by 2015 and up, at least up to 2020, hopefully”, Ms. Taclain said.
Ms. Taclain also left some advice for aspiring SMEs to enjoy the same success that they have.
“First is patience, they have to be patient. Also there should be cooperation between the management and members, and above all, prayers. We should ask God for guidance in our daily operation. There should also be open lines for communication and consultation within the organization. There should also be continuous trainings and seminars for officers down to the members for continuous learning. We need all these to improve our business for the good of the farmers of the public”, she ended. (MVC/PIA9-ZBST)