Summary
Highlights
In 1973, 70 tenant dealers and small farmers formed 'Samahang Nayon'. By 1992, it transformed into the Lamac Multi-Purpose Cooperative (LMPC), growing from 70 members to over 105,000 from various sectors, with 60% in agriculture. Starting with a capital of 3,500 pesos, LMPC now boasts 2.3 billion pesos in assets across 49 branches, primarily in Cebu.
LMPC has established numerous projects including a water system serving 887 households, Co-op Mart Bakery, a significant credit and savings portfolio (60% supporting farmers), five resorts, soap and candle making, a water refilling station, a Coca-Cola dealership, a housing project for 125 beneficiaries, a dormitory, two gasoline stations, and garments making benefiting 54 women and youth.
Driven by a mission to elevate farmers, LMPC diversified into agro-enterprise development using a clustering and value chain approach. In 2013, the Farmer's Entrepreneurship Program, in partnership with Jollibee Group Foundation and others, aimed to transform farmers into entrepreneurs. LMPC provides holistic services including access to capital, training, insurance, and market linkages.
LMPC organizes various farmer clusters, each with elected officers for monitoring and shared leadership. Vegetable farmer clusters, formed in 2014, produce fresh vegetables for 110 institutional buyers and participate in the Kadiwa on Wheels program. LMPC also ventured into cacao, dairy farming with the Philippine Carabao Center, and cassava farming with DTI and DA, partnering with San Miguel Food Incorporated.
In 2015, LMPC partnered with PCA for the KAINeb Agrohub project to engage in coconut coir and allied product processing. After developing technical capabilities and receiving equipment, a coir processing facility in Tuburan became operational in 2020. LMPC diversified coconut products to include coco sugar, virgin coconut oil, and coconut water-infused foods, in collaboration with Cebu Technological University. They also partnered with DOST Region 7 for a food value chain facility and manufacturing village.
LMPC continues to organize more farmer clusters for corn, rice, cut flowers, hog raising, fisherfolk, and free-range chicken, along with youth farmer clusters. These clusters are market-driven and monitored by Agri technicians. LMPC also established a Farm School with TESDA and ATI, and initiated farm tourism with the Department of Tourism. Their clustered farms have benefited over 5,000 families, showcasing continued success and innovation since 1973.
The speaker reflects on the cooperative's modest beginnings and how they overcame financial limitations through self-funding and strong belief in their mission. Recognizing farmers' needs beyond consumption, they ventured into lending, linking with Land Bank despite initial reluctance. Their strategy involved learning from existing successful cooperatives, focusing on vulnerable sectors, and consolidating services. They emphasized collaboration as key, citing their partnership in the coco-hub project despite initial lack of experience in the zero-waste enterprise.
A member shares how the Lamac MPC helped them during the pandemic. After their previous businesses were affected by lockdowns, they returned to their hometown. They started producing coco-rope from cocoa fiber waste. With initial capital from LMPC, they quickly expanded their online sales from 400-500 ropes to 2,000 within weeks. The cooperative provides a constant supply of raw materials and even helped them build a store using coir, demonstrating the cooperative's role in inspiring and empowering its members.