In
the plantation-dominated economy of Cotabato, the Philippine
government’s program to re-distribute agricultural
land to landless farmers had produced little results. As
expected, the plantation owners were not in a hurry to transfer
ownership. Surprisingly, however, the farmers themselves
were not clamoring for their share. Many were frightened
to venture out with no patronage from their plantation owners.
They believed their lack of adequate capital, technical
know-how and experience in farm management guaranteed failure.
In response to this, provincial government of Cotabato initiated
the Kabalikat Rubber Development Project.
The first
order of business was to recruit enough support for the
project. The provincial government accomplished more than
that. A four-way partnership was formed with farm workers,
the Makilala Rubber Corporation, and national government
agencies. In turn, these four committed parties laid the
groundwork for a successful land re-distribution program.
The
farmers organized themselves into a cooperative called the
North Cotabato Rubber Development Cooperative (NOCORDECO).
This gave them a forum for sharing technical and management
learnings with each other and ensured that their collective
concerns will be heard by provincial and national authorities.
Members can also borrow funds from the cooperative to finance
minor improvements for their farm lots.
The
Makilala Rubber Corporation (Makrubber) provided critical
support to the project by pledging support as the cooperative’s
largest buyer and primary processor of rubber. In addition,
Makrubber serves as one of NOCORDECO’s chief financiers.
In association with the Land Bank, Makrubber has since provided
over Php 48 million worth of loans to NOCORDECO farmers.
The
provincial government, with assistance from national agencies,
brought further credence to the project by providing much
needed infrastructure. To assist the farmers in their irrigation
logistics, the provincial government built feeder roads
and an overflow bridge through the former plantation area.
Since then, the provincial government has also been maintaining
these structures in good workable conditions.
To-date,
the Kabalikat Rubber Development Project has facilitated
re-distribution of 1,000 hectares of land, benefiting 344
farmers and their families. Many of these farmers have doubled
their incomes since the program began, effectively advancing
the government’s ideals of equity and social justice
in the province of Cotabato.
