WORLD BANK MEETS AGSUR TOWN’S BANANA COOP

The World Bank that primarily funds the Department of Agriculture (DA)Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) virtually conversed with the Kinabugawan Farmers Producers Cooperative (KIFAPCO) of Veruela, Agusan del Sur, the proponent group (PG) of the PRDP Caraga I-REAP or Enterprise Component. KIFAPCO Chairperson, Zaldy Gabato shared how their microenterprise on Banana Production and Trading Marketing rapidly improved with the help of PRDP.

Apart from the increase in income, Gabato stressed that beneficiaries became more active in planting bananas making their coop expand from a two-hectare planting area to five hectares.

World Bank Consultant, Agnes Deshormes asked KIFAPCO how do the coop foresees growth and its plan to achieve it.

Gabato responded that they envision to strengthen KIFAPCO’s marketing strategies which will also improve the lives of the banana farmers. “In our

business marketing, we encourage the members to sell their bananas to us so that our income will increase. In every purchase, P0.25 goes to our coop, this little amount will go a long way,” he said.

“Someday we can use the coop’s income to increase the buying price of our farmers’ bananas. This is our way to further develop the coop and help our farmers,” added Gabato. KIFAPCO also narrated that despite the harm brought by the pandemic, the lockdown also served to their advantage.

“Our LGU was very strict during the pandemic. Residents cannot go out even in our barangay.

Because of this, residents concentrated in farming specifically banana since it is the notable commodity here. Most untilled lands were now planted and this increased our banana production,” Gabato disclosed.

In the end, KIFAPCO and other PGs from Visayas and Mindanao were lauded by the World Bank consultants including Eli Weiss, Maria Theresa Quinones, Tim Hancock, and Agnes Deshormes for their hard work despite the calamities and crisis they have encountered along the way. (DA-RFO XIII, PRDP/PIA-Agusan del Sur)