ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Aug. 16, 2012) – What started as farmers irrigators’ association in 1978 in Western Mindanao is now one of the most successful in the region.
Called the Salug Valley Compact Farming System Multi-purpose Cooperative, it has now 645 members from originally 80 and most of them are farmers, who are agrarian reform beneficiaries from the municipalities of Molave, Mahayag, Ramon Magsaysay and Tambulig in Zamboanga del Sur province.
The cooperative is engaged in providing loans to its members, among other services. It is now worth over P5.7 million from P13,800 more than three decades ago.
And to further make its services even more better, the Department of Science and Technology in Western Mindanao, through the Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program (SETUP), has funded the acquisition of mechanical drier and an 8-ton capacity rice hull-fired furnace worth some P750,000 for the cooperative.
The DOST, in a statement sent to the Mindanao Examiner, said it will also provide training on the use of the newly-acquired equipment, which is expected to have an increase in drying capacity of rice and palay up to more than 30%.
SETUP, a flagship program of DOST, is a nationwide strategy to encourage and assist micro, small and medium enterprises in implementing technological innovations and improvements in their operations to boost their productivity and competitiveness. (Mindanao Examiner)
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