CBMIS paved way in marketing cooperative products in Region 1

1. CBMIS PAVED WAY IN MARKETING COOPERATIVE PRODUCTS
The Cooperative Development Authority as the lead agency for
the development of cooperatives came up with a great idea to help the
cooperatives sell their products to a wider market. The CDA developed
the Cooperative Business Matching Information System (CBMIS), an
online program that will help the cooperatives promote their products
and services as well as facilitate business matching and marketing
activities.
Online marketing is now very effective, convenient and popular
medium of doing business to the public. As of this date, a total of
twenty eight (28) cooperatives were enrolled in the CBMIS. After a year
of implementation, monitoring of results was conducted by the CPDAS
unit of CDA DEO.
On November 28, 2019, Ms. Jacqueline De Leon, Senior CDS/Area
Supervisor of Ilocos Norte and Ms. Rosievic R. Medina, CDS II had the
chance to interview Mr. Marlon Cariño, the Chairperson of Bacarra
Garlic Producers Cooperative, one of the cooperatives enrolled in the
CBMIS program. The said cooperative was assisted in the enrollment
process and officially registered in the CBMIS last March 2019.
According to Mr. Cariño,a week after being enrolled in the CBMIS,
someone called him from Baguio and inquired about the cooperative

2. products and who became the coop’s first client under this platform.
Mr. Cariño mentioned that the person from Baguio became their
regular buyer of 500 kilograms of garlic every month. Another
transaction was also made with someone from Malabon who also
became their regular customer and requested the coop to deliver 200
kilos of garlic every three months. The third client was an Indian
National a resident of Baguio City who manufactures spicy food
products. The said Indian National became also a regular customer and
had an agreement with the cooperative to supply 400 kilograms of
garlic per month. Further, Mr. Carino said that all the buyers
mentioned above have to settle the accounts first before he sends the
products thru bus companies.
Because of the coop’s enrollment to the CBMIS program, the
cooperative was able to reach out customers even outside of region 1
and resulted to regular and successful business transactions. The
cooperative members are now willing to plant more garlic because they
now have a sure buyer unlike before that their products are stocked in
their warehouse which resulted to the cooperative’s low investment
returns as well as affected the income of their members’. The
cooperative also has now a two hectares garlic plantation for a
sufficient stock in order to cater the needs of their customers. Further,
according to him, for the past years, they had a hard time selling their
products, however, with the enrolment to the CBMIS program, they
have found regular buyers of their product. Finally, Mr. Cariño said, the
cooperative members and officers are very happy and thankful to CDA
because, they wouldn’t find those buyers without the help of CDA
program. (By: JLL & RRM)