Landbank supports lifeblood of community in Zamboanga Sibugay

Through the years, LandBank has been supportive of GARBEMCO’S endeavors.

Last year, GARBEMCO provided jobs to 321 individuals. They harvest around 600 bales per week. and sell these bales at P50 per kilo, mostly to the local market, and select areas in Cebu and Cagayan de Oro.

For a community of 312 Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARB) in Kabasalan, Zamboanga Sibugay, a 1,000-hectare plantation of rubber trees is the primary source of income and livelihood. These ARB have established a profitable system of maintaining the rubber trees, gathering produce and selling them, thanks to the organization they formed in 1992 — the Goodyear Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Multi-Purpose Cooperative (GARBEMCO).

The Cooperative (Co-Op) itself generates employment in the community. Last year, GARBEMCO provided jobs to 321 individuals. They harvest around 600 bales of crumb rubber per week. The rubber is packed at 33.33 kilos per bale. GARBEMCO sells these bales at P50 per kilo, mostly to the local market, and select areas in Cebu and Cagayan de Oro.

According to GARBEMCO general manager Lilia Manuel, the rubber plantation has been a profitable venture for the Co-op, as supplemented by other businesses including credit operations, fishpond operations, abaca production, handicraft making, consumer store, rice field rental, rice milling and trading, and hauling services.

To help the Co-op further enhance its business, Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) approved a loan on 17 September, 2019 to finance its working capital requirement for rubber production, rice milling and trading consumer store, and fishpond and abaca production.

Through the years, LandBank has been supportive of GARBEMCO’S endeavors. Their relationship can be traced back to 1995 when the Co-Op was still in its early years and was suffering from low production due to hectares of senile rubber trees. But when the bank extended an agricultural production loan, the Co-Op managed to transcend to the challenges in its operations.

Another loan was extended to GARBEMCO in 2012, which the Co-Op used for replanting purposes for 238 hectares. This helped GARBEMCO further grow its business.

From being besieged by various problems, the Co-Op has now grown and is reaping the rewards. It has also improved its managerial operation capacity by conducting training seminars on risk and capacity building under the LandBank Countryside Development Bank Development Foundation Inc.

As LandBank aggressively expands its retail lending programs to provide farmers and fishers with direct access to credit, it continues to channel financing support to the sector through partner conduits, such as farmers; and fishers’ cooperatives, irrigators’ associations and countryside financial institutions.

For more information on LandBank’s lending programs, visit www.landbank.com or the nearest LandBank Lending Center.