Agriterra Philippines welcomes MAGROW MPC as newest client
02-02-2022Maragusan, Davao de Oro - Agriterra officially welcomed its new partnership with the Maragusan Growers Multi Purpose Cooperative (MAGROW MPC) as it concluded its cooperative scoping and assessment report which will be the basis of its capacity building program.
“We welcome MAGROW MPC as Agriterra’s newest client. This new relationship will help the cooperative develop its strategy for growing its banana farming and trading business and explore areas on how it can improve its services to further benefit its farmer members,”
said Agriterra Business Advisor Techu Tumbali.
MAGROW MPC was established in 1994 and its main business is cavendish banana farming. The cooperative also offers financial services and its other businesses include: high-value crops such cacao and coffee; consumer and farm inputs supply store; manpower service provider; and insurance. MAGROW MPC has 818 regular members all of which are involved in cavendish banana farming while 225 members are engaged in the cooperative’s cacao business.
Throughout its 26 years of operations, MAGROW MPC identifies agricultural pests and diseases and unstable market prices as its major constraints in doing business. These pull down the farmers’ productivity and increase their production cost. Climate change has also greatly impacted the farmers’ productivity in recent years due to extreme weather conditions that disrupt normal production seasons.
Under the partnership, Agriterra will assist MAGROW MPC in its strategic planning, including business planning with a focus on diversification, product commercialization, and improving its climate resilience. Agriterra will also provide the cooperative training on governance, gender, youth engagement, and leadership, with a focus on strengthening the cooperative’s roadmap for banana production. Additionally, the partnership will explore linking MAGROW MPC to technical partners from the Dutch academe for technical advice on pest control.
MAGROW MPC was nominated as the GAWAD SAKA representative of the Province and Region in 2020 under the program of the Department of Agriculture (DA). It was also cited by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) as top Agrarian Reform Beneficiary Organization (ARBO) in Region XI. MAGROW MPC is now trying to adapt its operations in line with the DA’s Farm and Fishery Clustering and Consolidation Program (F2C2).
As Agriterra’s new client, MAGROW MPC welcomes the opportunity to increase its organizational capacity to eventually improve the quality of life of its members especially the marginalized farmers.
Agriterra Agripoolers Han Geuns (Dutch), Enrique de los Rios Porras (Spanish), and Business Advisor Techu Tumbali lead the online cooperative assessment with the Board of Directors and Management of the Maragusan Growers Multipurpose Cooperative (MAGROW MPC) conducted in November - December 2021.
