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LET’S INSTITUTIONALIZE GOVERNMENT GRANTS TO COOPERATIVES

LET’S INSTITUTIONALIZE GOVERNMENT GRANTS TO COOPERATIVES Correct me if I am wrong, but there appears to be no formal and institutionalized system in the Philippines for government grants to cooperatives. Yes, government agencies and local government units (LGUs) have been providing assistance to cooperatives for many years. However, these often come in the form of donations in cash or in kind, distributed on an ad hoc basis and sometimes dependent on available funds or changing priorities. To me, there is a difference between a donation and a grant. A donation is a simple transfer of resources. A grant, on the other hand, operates within a formal regulatory framework, with clear objectives, application procedures, eligibility criteria, monitoring systems, and measurable outcomes. That is exactly what I am proposing: let us institutionalize government grants for cooperatives. Why is this important? First, a competitive grant system promotes transparency. If cooperatives can systematical...
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HOW COULD WE CAPTURE THE GLOBAL MARKET FOR UBE PRODUCTS?

HOW COULD WE CAPTURE THE GLOBAL MARKET FOR UBE PRODUCTS? For many years, the Philippines has been recognized as the home of ube, the purple yam that has become a global sensation in ice cream, pastries, beverages, confectioneries, and other food products. The world associates ube with Filipino culture and cuisine. Yet today, a serious question confronts us: will we remain the undisputed leader in the global ube market, or will we once again lose our advantage to a more aggressive competitor? We have seen this story before. We once dominated products such as coconut oil and cane sugar, only to see other countries capture larger shares of the global market. Now, according to Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry Vice President Bryan Ang, Vietnam is rapidly increasing its purple yam production and positioning itself to challenge our leadership. The warning should not be taken lightly. The global market does not reward tradition alone. It rewards volume, consistency, quality, brandin...
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IS IT POSSIBLE TO RUN A CORPORATION LIKE A COOPERATIVE?

IS IT POSSIBLE TO RUN A CORPORATION LIKE A COOPERATIVE? For many years, I have observed an interesting contrast between corporations and cooperatives. Corporations are generally admired for their efficiency, professionalism, access to capital, and strong management culture. However, they are often criticized for focusing too much on profits and shareholder value, sometimes at the expense of broader social objectives. Cooperatives, on the other hand, are admired for their social purpose. They exist primarily to serve the needs of their members rather than outside investors. Yet many cooperatives struggle with professional management, capital generation, and long-term sustainability. This raises an intriguing question: Is it possible to run a corporation like a cooperative? At first glance, the answer appears to be no. After all, corporations operate on the principle that voting power is linked to capital investment, while cooperatives follow the principle of one member, one vote. But pe...
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PANDAYAN NG BAYAN SHOULD BECOME THE CENTERPIECE AGRICULTURE PROGRAM OF THE PHILIPPINES

PANDAYAN NG BAYAN SHOULD BECOME THE CENTERPIECE AGRICULTURE PROGRAM OF THE PHILIPPINES For decades, the Philippines has spent billions of pesos on agricultural modernization. Tractors were distributed. Harvesters were turned over. Dryers, irrigation pumps, and farm equipment were delivered to cooperatives and farmers' groups nationwide. Yet despite these investments, we continue to hear the same complaints: lack of machinery, low productivity, poor post-harvest facilities, and high production costs. What went wrong? The answer is simple. We focused on distributing machines but neglected the systems needed to repair, maintain, and eventually manufacture them locally. Across the country, many government-donated farm machines now sit idle and rusting. When a tractor breaks down, farmers often cannot afford the spare parts or technical services needed for repairs. The result is predictable: expensive equipment becomes useless long before its intended lifespan. This is precisely why I b...
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USING TECHNOLOGY FOR PRECISION AGRICULTURE AND DATA-DRIVEN AGRICULTURE GOVERNANCE

USING TECHNOLOGY FOR PRECISION AGRICULTURE AND DATA-DRIVEN AGRICULTURE GOVERNANCE For many years, the Philippines has been reacting to agricultural problems instead of anticipating them. When drought comes, we scramble. When typhoons strike, we rush for relief. When rice prices rise, we import more rice. But is that really the best we can do? As climate change intensifies, I believe the time has come for the government to embrace precision agriculture and data-driven governance on a national scale. The question is no longer whether technology is available. The question is whether we have the political will to use it effectively. Consider what other countries are doing. Indonesia, for example, has been encouraging farmers to adjust planting schedules, optimize irrigation systems, and use drought-resistant seeds in anticipation of severe El Niño conditions. Their government is actively using weather forecasts and agricultural data to guide decision-making. Are we doing the same in the Ph...
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A SHARP CRITIQUE OF OUR LAND REFORM PROGRAM

A SHARP CRITIQUE OF OUR LAND REFORM PROGRAM Recently, I came across a powerful essay written by Ms. Sharon Gick entitled "The Land Was Never Theirs to Give." Whether one agrees with all of her conclusions or not, her work deserves serious attention because it raises difficult questions about the real outcomes of agrarian reform in the Philippines. According to Ms. Gick, the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) did not fully liberate farmers from poverty. Instead, she argues that many beneficiaries received land titles accompanied by long-term debt obligations, while lacking access to credit, equipment, infrastructure, and support services needed to make their farms productive. Her most provocative observation is that many agrarian reform beneficiaries were given ownership documents but could not easily use these titles as collateral for financing. As a result, farmers often found themselves trapped between the need for capital and the inability to obtain it. Whether ...
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CEBU CITY MAKES HEADWAY WITH SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

CEBU CITY MAKES HEADWAY WITH SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT Republic Act No. 9003, otherwise known as the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, has been in force for more than twenty-five years. Yet despite the passage of time, many local government units (LGUs) have still failed to establish fully compliant Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs) as required by law. This raises an important question: Are we very good at making laws but not very good at implementing them? The recent initiatives of Cebu City suggest that the answer does not have to be that way. Under the leadership of Mayor Nestor Archival, Cebu City has launched its Eco Station-SRP and Materials Recovery Festival, demonstrating that solid waste management need not be complicated, expensive, or dependent on imported technology. In fact, the city is proving that practical solutions are already available. To put it simply, an MRF does not require rocket science. It mainly needs segregation, shredding, composting, recycling,...
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