The Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte initiated the "Livelihood Assistance for Micro Cooperatives" project to ensure the economic stability and viability of micro cooperatives in the province. The project provided agricultural and livestock production inputs worth PHP200,000 to each of five cooperatives. The Cooperative Development Authority partnered with the province in planning and implementing the project. Two of the recipient cooperatives had also participated in the CDA-DTI Coop-Seed program and received training in cooperative management and business skills. The livelihood assistance project aims to help the cooperatives grow and provide additional income to members, reducing unemployment and improving lives in their communities.

1. MICRO COOPERATIVES: Recipients of Livelihood Assistance
The Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte thru the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist
initiated the Project dubbed as the “Livelihood Assistance for Micro Cooperatives” in the
province. Its main objective is to ensure economic stability/viability of micro cooperatives in the
province enabling them to become self-reliant and instrument of social economic change in an
increasingly modernized community.
PA Norma Lagmay OPAg –IN CDA Dir Jo Bitonio and PA Lagmay
From the start of the project, the Cooperative Development Authority thru its Provincial
Office in Ilocos Norte represented by Ms. Rosievic R. Medina has been a partner from the
planning stage, identification of the beneficiaries up to the distribution of livelihood assistance.
The livelihood assistance were given grant to five (5) cooperative beneficiaries worth of
Php200,000.00 each in the form of agricultural and livestock production inputs. Said assistance
were awarded last November 15, 2019 at Laoag City, Ilocos Norte. The following micro
cooperative were the recipients of the assistance, namely:
1. LBN Multipurpose Cooperative of Brgy. Isic-Isic, Vintar, Ilocos Norte
2. Garnaden MPC of Brgy. Garnaden, Nueva Era, Ilocos Norte
3. Independent Church Aglipayan Association Inc Agriculture Cooperative of Brgy. 10N
Labub, Batac City, Ilocos Norte
4. Sumlaat-San Carlos MPC of Brgy. Bangsar, Banna, Ilocos Norte
5. Camanga Upland Farmers MPC of Brgy. Camanga, Badoc, Ilocos Norte

2. Further, the LBN MPC and Garnaden MPC are among the beneficiaries of the COOP-
SEED Program, a CDA-DTI Partnership Project. The said cooperatives were endorsed by the CDA
because they were already equipped with knowledge and skills in the management of their
cooperatives particularly in managing a business/livelihood enterprise as a result of attendance
to various trainings being the beneficiaries of the COOP-SEED Program. Various Trainings were
conducted such as Fundamentals of Cooperatives, Governance and Management,
Entrepreneurial Skills Development, Product Development, Marketing, Bookkeeping and
Financial Literacy.
The project is to help the cooperatives grow and will definitely provide an additional
livelihood to cooperatives and the members, thus, it will lessen the number of unemployment
and uplift the lives of the cooperative members as well as the community. (By: JLL/RRM)