This document summarizes plans by the Regional Cooperative Development Council (RCDC) in Region 10 of the Philippines to establish bulk purchasing and marketing of fertilizer through agricultural cooperatives. It discusses forming a federation headed by Atty. Sid Lico to organize cooperatives in Mindanao and obtain letters of credit to import fertilizer. It also mentions plans to establish a Cooperative Resource Center and Cooperative Market in Cagayan de Oro City to promote cooperative products and skills training. The overall goal is to provide farmers access to affordable farm inputs and give cooperatives more control over production through organic alternatives.

1. RCDC Chair, Atty. Sid Lico
A paper presented during the Luzonwide TEAMshop
At Hotel Consuelo, Libgayen, Pangasinan< April 2011

2. In her keynote Speech during the
4th
Maindanao held in Cagayan de Oro
on March 10, 2008 with some 4,700
cooperators in attendance, President
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has
mandated CDA for the cooperatives in
Mindanao to go into bulk buying, bulk
marketing and bulk transporting so
“as to mitigate the adverse impact of
skyrocketing prices particularly that of
farm inputs.”

3. The RCDC-10 deemed it imperative to initiate such mandate to
provide fertilizer to farmers that are significantly lower than commercially
sold fertilizer as bulk buying would do away with the several layers of
middle men before reaching the end users.
Suddenly, it has dawned upon us that cooperatives should have
indeed been in the forefront of such venture as its very essence, being
tax ad import duty exempt, has not in fact been exercised so as to
dismantle cartels and monopolies in a highly skewed societal set-up. We
can do no less but to prove ourselves equal to the task.
In order to commence Fertilizer Bulk Business, there is a need to
secure a Domestic Letter of Credit from Land Bank. This was the subject
of RCDC’s Resolution requesting Land Bank for such issuance.

5. The task of bulk buying will be difficult without the organizational
structure, systems and the funds to bring it to fruition. It has therefore
become imperative to form a federation as the vehicle to forge an alliance
among the cooperative of Mindanao as they pool in their resources together
to carry out such herculean task that aims to erase the different layers of
marketing. Headed by no less than our very own RCDC Chair, Atty. Sid Lico,
the task at hand now is to formally organize the Federation, whose members
are those who are willing to put in the much needed capital so as to be issued
Letter of Credit needed to ship fertilizers from abroad.

6. While we are positioning to import chemical fertilizer as to mitigate the impact of
soaring prices of farm inputs which will result in increases in food prices, we believe that
such dependency will be inimical to food and ecological security as the critical resource
base is increasingly subjected to toxic chemicals.
The only remedy then is to capacitate our agricultural cooperatives to have some
control over the mode of production by following appropriate technologies that trust in
the inherent processes of nature. Such has become a very viable option as we have
cooperatives in the region already accredited internationally to manufacture organic
fertilizer. Too, we take pride in having in our midst communities which are in solid waste
management, a good source of biodegradable materials as inputs to organic fertilizer
manufacturing.
After that meeting with stakeholders and advocates of sustainable agriculture held
recently at SEARSOLIN, it was decided to call again another convergence in the form of a
workshop where technologies will be shared among agricultural cooperatives to go into
manufacturing of organic fertilizers and even organic pesticides.

7. Cooperative Human Resource
Development Center

8. HE PGMA has handed a check worth P1,000,000.00 to the
Regional Office of the Cooperative Development Authority to
start the construction of the Cooperative Resource Center cum
CDA Office in a 1,000 sq.m. donated by the family of Atty.
Mordino Cua for such purpose.
The Center will serve as a training venue for the cooperatives
to enhance their skills and capabilities. The Center will also
showcase quality products of our cooperatives to link them to
the markets, both locally and globally.
CDA-10 deems it necessary to borrow an additional amount
of Five Million Pesos from the Land Bank for the construction
of the two-storey building. Processing of papers is now on-
going.

9. Establish CM (Cooperative Market)
fronting SM
In Partnership with the College of Agriculture, Xavier
University
Area provided by XU

10. While a number of cooperatives in Region 10 are producing quality
products, showcasing these products is very limited. As experience during
exhibits in malls, these products are commanding demand from consumers. It
has therefore come of age to commercialized these products which are highly
competitive.
We now banner the truism to the consumers that when the buy, they are
actually casting a vote, choosing from several economic alternatives: local
versus foreign, essentials versus junks, small versus big. When they buy the
products of the cooperatives they are buying the essentials, they are buying
healthy foods and they are in fact voting for the livelihoods of the poor
Filipinos.
Such is the reason for being of establishing a Cooperative Market at the
XU lot in Manresa fronting SM, in coordination with Xavier University that has
signified its interest to put up CM in front of SM.

11. Proposed Coop Market Area
In front of SM Cagayan de Oro City
Proposed Coop Market Area
In front of SM Cagayan de Oro City