Pagdanganan makes way for cooperative revolution

Agrarian Reform Secretary Roberto Pagdanganan has urged farmers and entrepreneurs to join resources and efforts to form part of the newly created banking system called Centralized Cooperative Financial System (CCFS) to finance their economic activities in the rural areas.

Pagdanganan, speaking before a general assembly of the members of the Greater Bulacan Livelihood Development, Inc. (GBLDCI) in Baliuag, Bulacan, explained that the CCFS ensures that all resources of farmers and small and medium entrepreneurs will be pooled in for the use of the farmers and entrepreneurs themselves. Like businessmen, they will have access to necessary credits in the CCFS.

"The poor becomes poorer because the present banking system provides only a few (investors of big companies) to access the financial services of commercial banks. But, farmers and entrepreneurs also put their savings in these banks, however, they are not given financial services equal to services availed by big time businessmen," Pagdanganan stressed.

Pagdanganan bared that he will push the agrarian reform program along with the concern of having a strong cooperative movement to improve the living condition of farmers in the rural areas. "The CCFS will be pushed to make way for a farmers’ bank and make cooperatives as conduits of services for the farmers. In this manner, all resources of farmers and small enterprises are intact they can be leveraged to assist farmers," he also said.

The agrarian chief cited the experience of other countries like Holland, Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand where most banks are owned by a farmers’ cooperative. The Rubber Bank, the biggest bank in Holland, is owned by a farmer cooperative. Here, one should be a cooperative member in order to own a share in this bank. Cooperatives in Sweden, Norway and Denmark formed alliances to provide greater force for globalization.

Pagdanganan also encouraged the GBLDCI to branch out to remote barangays instead of organizing new cooperative. "It is more worthy to strengthen cooperatives with good standing rather than reviving dormant ones," the agrarian chief added.

"Pushing agrarian reform with strong cooperative support will lead to a progressive community," he further said.