Former Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri challenged farmers to embrace “cooperativism” as a way to prosper fast although they are used to individually carrying out their economic activities.

In a press release from his office, Zubiri said “One sure way for farmers to quickly access inexpensive loans and affordable crop insurance is via their formation of co-ops.”

Zubiri, author of the Cooperative Code of 2008, also said that one by one, farmers find it tough to borrow money. Banks also find it hard to give credit to individual farmers. But a co-op can easily get loans for all farmer-members and facilitate repayments.

Under the Agri-Agra Law of 2010, Zubiri said some P725 billion, or 25 percent of the loan portfolio of banks, is supposed to be available for lending to farmers.

He said the law requires banks to set aside 15 percent of their loan portfolio for borrowers from the farm sector, and another 10 percent for agrarian reform beneficiaries.

“But few individual farmers are actually getting any bank loans. Loan availment will surely increase once farmers band themselves into co-ops,” Zubiri said.

Individual farmers, including those in flood- or drought-prone areas, may find it problematic to obtain coverage from the Philippine Corp Insurance Corp. but if farmers work as a group through a co-op, they will find it easier to come to terms with the PCIC,” he also said.

Zubiri, who also authored the Organic Agriculture Act of 2010, acknowledged that farmers are more individually-oriented compared to workers, who can easily operate as a group.

To overcome the difficulty, Zubiri urged the Cooperative Development Authority and local governments to invest aggressively in educating farmers on the benefits of co-ops as a model for economic advancement, the press release added.*

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