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One of the objectives of IFAD-funded operations is to strengthen communities so that they can determine their own needs and mobilize resources to meet them.  Small enterprise development and credit are central to this endeavour.  Working with farmers, women and indigenous groups, IFAD and its partners have helped change the attitudes and economies of villages and municipalities in southern Philippines, even in areas affected by conflict.

Subanens embrace cooperativism

The Siayan Farmers Multi-Purpose Cooperative is proud of what it has accomplished. The cooperative is in Siayan, Zamboanga del Norte, which was ranked the country’s poorest municipality in a 2008 government survey.

Siayan is designated an “agrarian reform community”, which means it is primarily made up of beneficiaries of the agrarian reform who have agreed to be organized and undertake the integrated development of an area. In each community, farmers' associations or cooperatives take the lead in the agricultural development of the area. The Subeanen people, an indigenous group whose population nationwide is only about 37,000, comprise about 70 per cent of the population of Siayan.

It took months before community organizers working with the Western Mindanao Community Initiatives Project succeeded in organizing the Subeanen farmers into a cooperative. Many of the problems faced resulted from deep-seated suspicion and cynicism, understandable attitudes among people living in conflict-affected areas. “People thought our small gatherings were part of the recruitment scheme of the New People’s Army,” a founding member of the cooperative recalls. “Our own families called the meetings a waste of time.”

Eventually these difficulties were overcome. In April 2002, when 26 members had signed on, the cooperative became an official entity, launching its microfinance business with a working capital of PHP 3,600 (about US$77). The project provided training courses and seminars to help cooperative managers and members learn basic skills and techniques in managing their new business.

Determined to keep their new venture afloat, officers initially worked without a salary. The first loans extended were tiny (just PHP 1,000, or about US$21), but they were enough to help local people, particularly women, start small businesses such as sari-sari stores. As these businesses multiplied, word spread about the cooperative’s services, and this greatly helped increase its membership.

In 2005, the cooperative set up a small quasi-bank in a market stall in town and worked to expand its  client base further. In 2009, it bought and moved to an office building that is more centrally located and therefore more accessible to office workers, entrepreneurs, teachers and students.

Marina Gayapa, the cooperative’s chairwoman, lists its achievements. There are now savings programmes for young people, children, group savers and overseas Filipino workers. New members have been recruited to build up the capital needed to support expanded business operations.

“I am pleased that the value of personal saving is being taught in Siayan’s high schools. That may be why more students have enrolled in our youth savings programmes,” says Gayapa. 

She says the cooperative benefited greatly from the initial training courses and seminars provided by the project. “But it is also the cooperation and unity of the members who believe in themselves that brought about changes in the lives of the people in Siayan. With their support and commitment, our cooperative grew.”

The Green Jewel of Nazareth

Women preparing local limes for processing.  The lime processing centre in Nazareth has given a much-needed boost to this coastal town’s economy.

Sixty per cent of the more than 500 households in the coastal village of Nazareth, in Kabasalan, Zamboanga Sibugay, are lime farmers. Because of the highly perishable nature of limes and their oversupply, earnings from limes used to be low. As one of Nazareth’s farmers explained, “In the past, when we harvested our limes, we only had two choices: sell them cheap or let them rot.”

Five years ago, the the Western Mindanao Community Initiatives Project helped establish a lime processing centre in the town. The project also provided capacity-building and production training to the Nazareth Women’s Association, organized specifically by the project to manage the business. Less than a year after the centre’s establishment, the 35-member-strong association had earned PHP 104,120 (over US$2,200) from the sale of lime concentrate.

With technical assistance and advice from the project, the association has greatly improved productivity and product quality, and adopted a modern packaging style (including bar codes and nutritional information). As a result, the centre’s lime concentrate has  now been accredited by the government’s Bureau of Food and Drugs.

To meet growing demand, the project also funded new processing equipment that allows the centre to produce 200 bottles of limes concentrate per batch (requiring 156 kilograms of limes). The centre has also recently added another product line: squeezed lime rind made into jelly‚ candy and jam.

Because of the project, Nazareth has become an economically and socially stronger community. The women’s association is still growing. The village’s lime growers have a regular market for their produce and are earning far more than before. Given the processing centre’s positive impact on the town, the provincial government provided it with additional capital through its One Town One Product programme. “This will allow our product to be marketed in a wider market and compete with other similar businesses,” says Emeteria Ricaforte, the association’s chairwoman. 

Mothers in ‘no man’s’ land

Bottled lime concentrate.  With its new modern equipment, the processing centre can produce 200 bottles of lime concentrate at a time.

A group of mothers have won a small battle in ‘no man’s’ land. These women live in the poor village of Seven Hills, population 1,470. The village is 5.5 kilometres from Maasim, Saranggani, which has been a base of operations for bandits and rebels for over 30 years. Violence has spilled over to the village, making it difficult for people and enterprises to thrive.

Today, these women have their own association and their own brand, DEBEMAR’s Food Products. The association’s recent three-month gross earnings were PHP 4,650 (US$100) – impressive considering that their initial start-up capital was only PHP 700 (about US$15).

They were helped to become entrepreneurs through the IFAD-funded Rural Microenterprise Promotion Programme, which focuses on enterprise development in the 19 poorest provinces of the Philippines and the provision of microfinance services in all rural areas.

As initial evaluation conducted by the programme found that the village had good potential for food-processing microenterprises, especially if they took advantage of the abundance of bananas in the area. Hearing about the programme, a group of impoverished mothers decided to look into it.  They were included in a training course where they learned how to make banana chips. Once they had amply shown their capabilities, they were provided a space for preparing their products. 

Starting the business was difficult. Nenita Barrosso, the Department of Trade and Industry Provincial Director, relates: “Because of personality clashes and management difficulties, the group abandoned its livelihood project for a while.” The persistence of the programme’s provincial officer and the provision of training in accounting and entrepreneurial management helped rekindle the women’s enthusiasm.

Barroso adds: “This microproject is ongoing, but we can see already that it will contribute to the women’s household income and their children’s welfare, as well as to the local economy.”

“The programme gave those of us who had no work a way to earn a living,” says Daisy Banggo, one of the association’s members. Martina Lestones, another member, adds: “Before, we had a very limited market and the members wanted to get their share of the earnings right away. Now we know better because of our training.”

Today, amidst the resurgence of conflict between the military and splinter groups of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the association and the programme continue their efforts. The women would like to expand the business and add new product lines. They now dream of a better life.

Source: IFAD