by Mai Gevera
A cooperative in Baganga, Davao Oriental by the name, Rubber Planters Multi Purpose Cooperative, was satisfied earning P20 per kilo of rubber in their 46-hectare rubber plantation, until they heard about the RUBBER project of the Department of Labor and Employment Region 11.
RUBBER or Rural and Upland Barangays Benefiting from Employment in Rubber is a P15-million initiative of DOLE 11 aimed at developing 30,000 hectares of rubber plantation in the region for the next 10 years.
The project is unique to the Davao region, making it an experimental project worth replicating in other parts of the country.
After developing Barangay Mandug, Davao City, DOLE recently awarded a P200,000 grant to the Baganga Rubber Planters Multi Purpose Cooperative for it to purchase a rubber sheeter machine.
Rodrigo Labastida, manager of the cooperative, is thankful for his group having been chosen as one of the beneficiaries of RUBBER.
He explained that having such a machine qualifies them to produce processed rubber.
“Dati po hanggang P20 lang ang pwede naming kitain sa bawat kilo ng rubber. Pero ngayon, pwede na kaming kumita ng P150 kada kilo,” he said.
The coop expects higher income from at least 2,000 kilos of rubber latex to be produced each month.
This project came about in time to provide additional employment for farmers, especially in the middle of a global financial crisis.
Not just benefiting the members of the cooperative, but the project in Baganga also hired additional manpower — 46 rubber tappers, 10 nursery laborers, and 15 management personnel.
Overwhelmed by their success, Rodrigo expressed the collective feeling the coop members. “Hindi man namin ito babayaran kasi ito ay isang grant na bigay ng gobyerno subalit sisguraduhin naming sasagana ang mga buhay ng marami sa aming taga Baganga,” he said.
This P200,000 grant is just part of the more than P2 billion livelihood checks given out by the DOLE 11 under President Arroyo’s CLEEP Program. [PIA 11]
