A thousand becomes a million… a small idea becomes a big dream to advance in life through cooperative ways.

While sitting at the table and approving loan applications of its members, Manager Maryjane Magamayo talked about their organization, the Ugoban Multipurpose Cooperative (UMPC).

“Managing a coop is a big challenge, various problems can be experienced. Through hard work, continuous work of its officers and the cooperation of each member, UMPC achieved its success,” an introductory statement made by Magamayo.

UMPC is a primary agrarian reform beneficiary organization (ARBO) in Tagbina, Surigao del Sur, whose central business is the consumer store and the microfinance lending.

The UMPC’s consumer store started with a small capital of Php1,500.00 built by its fifteen (15) members. They have managed it well and currently it has grown to over Php1.4 million and has reached 500,000 pesos’ average profit a year.

“Ugoban Multi-purpose Cooperative (UMPC) was organized by the Philippine Paper Industry Corporation of the Philippines (PICOP) in 1990 within their Community Development Organization Program. In 2004, due to the formation of an agrarian reform community in the municipality of Tagbina province of Surigao del Sur, UMPC became one of the cooperatives assisted by the Department of Agrarian Reform. Poverty, no accessibility to the market and expensive prices of basic needs were the reasons that motivated us to venture in consumer store and microfinance lending business”, Manager Magamayo recalled.

Microfinance was introduced by DAR in 2016. It started when UMPC officers attended the training on microfinance conducted by the DAR through Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Development Sustainability Program (ARBDSP) program under the Enterprise Development & Economic Support (EDES).

Lending money to UMPC members has made it possible for them not to go to banks anymore to get loans for their farming and other needs. Most importantly, members earn a patronage refund compared to other lending institutions.

As of December 2021, 145 members have already availed of its loan services amounting to almost P5-million.

“To increase the business and income of our coop, and help our fellow farmers, we started informal microfinance lending. The DAR conducted free training on microfinance lending so we could make the business run properly. They introduced to us the correct system on how to operate this kind of business. From then on, it has grown from a small capital investment of Php180,000.00 to P6.2 million within (5) five years. Until now, our coop has successfully sustained the microfinance lending business,” said Magamayo.

UMPC is a group of 302 agrarian reform beneficiaries and farmers of rice, corn, and coffee, and so far, the co-op has addressed the problem of their members to have a capital for farm production at a lower interest rate.

UMPC has come a long way. They have continually responded to the needs of the community. Even if the cooperative is in a remote area, it is no longer difficult to buy daily requirements because of their consumer store. Access to credit of its members is no longer a problem anymore.

Some of the things that have contributed to the stability and the cooperative are the strict implementation of their policies especially in the collection of members' fees, improvements in systematizing financial and non-financial records, continuous training for its hardworking officers and most importantly, the cooperation and support of all members to comply with all policies of their organization.

“Various projects and training conducted by DAR have added to the maturity and stability of our cooperative. Today, even though the pandemic continues, we have survived with the assistance of the government through DAR. We feel the government, and this is the government we believe in,” Mangayo proudly said.

Ang libo na nagiging isang milyon ... isang maliit na ideya ay nagiging isang malaking pangarap na umasenso sa buhay sa pamamagitan ng pagtutulungan.

Habang nakaupo at nag-aapruba ng loan application ng mga miyembro, nagkuwento si Manager Maryjane Magamayo tungkol sa kanilang organisasyon, ang Ugoban Multipurpose Cooperative (UMPC).

“Malaking hamon ang pamamahala sa isang coop, iba’t ibang problema ang maaaring maranasan. Ngunit sa pamamagitan ng pagsusumikap, patuloy na pagtatrabaho ng mga opisyal at ang pagtutulungan ng bawat miyembro, nakamit ng UMPC ang tagumpay nito,” panimulang pahayag ni Magamayo.

Ang UMPC ay isang primary agrarian reform beneficiary organization (ARBO) sa Tagbina, Surigao del Sur, na ang sentral na negosyo ay ang consumer store at ang microfinance lending.

Nagsimula ang consumer store ng UMPC sa maliit na kapital na Php1,500.00 na itinayo ng labinlimang (15) miyembro nito. Pinangasiwaan nila ito ng maayos at sa kasalukuyan ay lumaki na ito sa mahigit Php1.4 milyon at umabot na sa 500,000 pesos na average na tubo sa isang taon.

“Ang Ugoban Multi-purpose Cooperative (UMPC) ay inorganisa ng Philippine Paper Industry Corporation of the Philippines (PICOP) noong 1990 sa loob ng kanilang Community Development Organization Program. Noong 2004, dahil sa pagkakabuo ng agrarian reform community sa munisipyo ng Tagbina sa lalawigan ng Surigao del Sur, naging isa ang UMPC sa mga kooperatiba na tinulungan ng Department of Agrarian Reform. Kahirapan, walang accessibility sa merkado at mahal na presyo ng mga pangunahing pangangailangan ang mga dahilan na nag-udyok sa amin na makipagsapalaran sa consumer store at microfinance lending business,” paggunita ni Magamayo.

Ang Microfinance ay ipinakilala ng DAR noong 2016. Nagsimula ito nang dumalo ang mga opisyal ng UMPC sa pagsasanay sa microfinance na isinagawa ng DAR sa pamamagitan ng Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Development Sustainability Program (ARBDSP) program sa ilalim ng Enterprise Development & Economic Support (EDES).

Ang pagpapahiram ng pera sa mga miyembro ng UMPC ay naging daan upang hindi na sila pumunta sa mga bangko upang makakuha ng pautang para sa kanilang pagsasaka at iba pang pangangailangan. Pinakamahalaga, ang mga miyembro ay nakakakuha ng patronage refund kumpara sa ibang mga institusyon ng pagpapautang.

Nitong Disyembre 2021, 145 na miyembro na ang naka-avail ng kanilang loan services na nagkakahalaga ng halos P5-million.

“Para madagdagan ang negosyo at kita ng aming coop, at makatulong sa aming mga kapwa magsasaka, sinimulan namin ang informal microfinance lending. Ang DAR ay nagsagawa ng mga libreng pagsasanay sa microfinance lending para mapatakbo namin ng maayos ang negosyo. Ipinakilala nila sa amin ang tamang sistema kung paano patakbuhin ang ganitong uri ng negosyo. Mula noon, ito ay lumago mula sa maliit na capital investment na Php180,000.00 hanggang P6.2 milyon sa loob ng (5) limang taon. Hanggang ngayon, matagumpay na napanatili ng ating coop ang microfinance lending business”, ani Magamayo.

Ang UMPC ay grupo ng 302 agrarian reform beneficiaries at magsasaka ng palay, mais, at kape, at sa ngayon, tinutugunan ng koop ang problema ng kanilang mga miyembro na magkaroon ng kapital para sa produksyon ng mga sakahan sa mas mababang rate ng interes.

Malayo na ang narating ng UMPC. Patuloy silang tumutugon sa mga pangangailangan ng komunidad. Kahit na nasa malayong lugar ang kooperatiba, hindi na mahirap bumili ng pang-araw-araw na pangangailangan dahil sa kanilang consumer store. Hindi na problema ang access sa credit ng mga miyembro nito.

Ilan sa mga nakatulong sa katatagan at kooperatiba ay ang mahigpit na pagpapatupad ng kanilang mga patakaran lalo na sa pangongolekta ng mga bayarin ng mga miyembro, pagpapabuti sa sistematikong financial at non-financial records, patuloy na pagsasanay para sa mga masisipag nitong opisyal at higit sa lahat, ang kooperasyon at suporta ng lahat ng miyembro na sumunod sa lahat ng patakaran ng kanilang organisasyon.

“Nakadagdag sa kapanahunan at katatagan ng ating kooperatiba ang iba't ibang proyekto at pagsasanay na isinagawa ng DAR. Ngayon, kahit nagpapatuloy ang pandemya, nakaligtas tayo sa tulong ng gobyerno sa pamamagitan ng DAR. Nararamdaman namin ang gobyerno, at ito ang pinaniniwalaan naming gobyerno,” pagmamalaki ni Mangayo.