"Nagpapasalamat ako kay Secretary Emmanuel Piñol, dahil siya ang kaisa-isang tagapagtangol ng mga magsasaka, at pati na rin ang kaniyang patuloy na pagsuporta sa ating samahan, ” expressed by Dr. Angelito B. Bagui, Chairman of the Board of Sorosoro-Ibaba Development Cooperative (SIDC), during their Founding Anniversary celebration at ABADA College in Pinamalayan, Oriental Mindoro on April 13.
With its theme “Pagpupugay sa Lumipas na Limang Dekada, Inspirasyon sa Tuloy-tuloy na Pagsulong” the cooperative looked back at its accomplishments for 50 years and thanked the Secretary for always fighting for farmers’ welfare.
He also promised SIDC’s support in all his plans for the agriculture industry.
“Ang mahigit na 35,000 na miyembro ng SIDC ay sumusuporta sa kanyang (Sec. Piñol) liderato,” he declared.
While Congressman Rico B. Giron, Chief Executive Officer, also included the national and regional agencies in his message of gratitude for always helping them achieve their goals for 50 years.
“Ang mga manggagawa natin sa Sorosoro-Ibaba Development Cooperative ay walang hangganang pasasalamat sa ating mga founders na nagtatag nito, saating mga kasapi, saating mga ahensya National man at local. Sapagkat sa isang banda silay nakatulong upang palakasin at paunlarin ito. Sana po ay magpatuloy at lumaki ang ating samahan upang higit na mas marami pa ang mamamayan ang ating matulungan,” he said.
Meanwhile, Dr. Enrico P. Garzon, Assistant Secretary for Livestock, shared DA’s programs for the livestock industry where the members of the cooperative can avail. He was among the guest of honor of the event.
“Gusto ko po ipaalam sa inyo ang mga programang Department of Agriculture with regards to Livestock program, mayroon po kaming mga programa na kung saan ito po ay direktang nakakatulong sa mga Cooperative. We have a program na nagbibigay po kami ng grandparents na baboy sa mga Cooperative,para yon po ang gagamitin ng mga member o yung produce na grandparents na ‘yon ay gagamitin ng mga miyembro natin sa pagpapalahi,” he said.
He also shared one of Sec. Pinol’s flagship program which the Production Loan Easy Access.
“We also finance yung mga slaughterhouses. We have the Production Loan Easy Access (PLEA),na kung saan yung individual farmers ay pwedeng mag apply ng fifty thousand pesos loan,” he shared.
While Department of Agriculture-MIMAROPA was represented by Ronie F. Panoy, Regional Technical Director for Operations. He recognized SIDC’s contribution in uplifting the lives of its farmer-members and shared the programs the Regional-Agri Department has.
“We are always committed to harness its potential in bringing positive impact in the lives of its members. May mga nakahandang programa ang aming tanggapan, upang mabigyan silang credit assistance and business development services na susuporta sa kanilang patuloy na paglago,” he said.
“Ang inyong tagumpay sa SIDC ay talaga ng namang kahanga-hanga at karapatdapat na tularan. Kaya naman, ang malaking hamon para sa inyo na gabayan ang bago at maliit na Kooperatiba sa rehiyon sa pamamagitan ng inyong best practices,” RTD Panoy added.
The event was witnessed by around 3,000 members and officers from different municipalities of Oriental Mindoro.
In MIMAROPA, The SIDC has Feed Mill, Feed Outlets and KooPinoy (a loaning service) in Oriental Mindoro, Occidental Mindoro and Palawan. It originated in Barangay Sorosoro-Ibaba, Batangas City, hence the name.
