The THREE-POINT Agenda and the Strategic Roadmap on "How to get there"

EXPANSION OF COOPERATIVE MEMBERSHIP on (1st Agenda)

Means more people will participate and benefit in development processes and thereby, be in the mainstream of development. This is based on the truism that people's participation is the best guarantee of social justice and sustainability. Without people's participation, all the outpourings of development programs will just be palliatives and cannot be the real solution.

With some 20 million people as envisioned, who will give high adherence to the time-honored and universally-accepted principles of participation and democratic control, people are empowered to debunk the top-to-bottom approach called "trickle down" as such was just successful in toppling down our forest, polluting our rivers and seas, depleting our resource based and consigning our people to live in slum areas. Never should we allow our people to be treated as sparrows to merely peck on the leftovers of what have already passed through the digestive tracts of cattle.

But how can the present membership be up-scaled?

First, we must serve notice that cooperativism is now the sole remedial measure to put those in the margins into the mainstream of development process. That the 18,900 cooperatives in the country are now joining the voices of the hungry and the helpless, binding themselves together that now threatens the lethal combination of apathy and greed. And this might just tip the balance because the people united can never be defeated.

This would mean paving the way towards a more holistic, participative, community-based, gender sensitive and people-centered development approaches. Such being the case, more will join cooperatives, cutting across class, gender, beliefs, ideologies, sectors and class. A cursory look at the social realities will amply show that those in the margins are asserting themselves more forcefully, thus, more will join existing cooperatives.

Second, CDA must join the call for paradigm shift to Sustainable Agriculture (SA). This will be a concrete move to mobilize the peasantry so that they can be freed from the clutches of conventionalagriculture which has impoverished them all these years, not to mention the harm done to the environment due to heavy usage of toxic chemicals and fertilizers.

When agricultural cooperatives shift to SA, this means the farmers themselves will be the manufacturers of organic Fertilizer and chemicals. This would simply mean that more farmers will be joining cooperatives to avail of such production technologies in line with the newly enacted law, the Organic Agriculture Act. More farmers will join the cooperatives who are producing organic rice, vegetables and raising animals.

Thirdly, the onset of cooperative markets that are selling what the farmers are producing will attract more farmers and consumers to join cooperatives. In this age of globalization where farming is increasingly put in jeopardy because of the influx of cheap agricultural products from abroad in the light of the massive infusion of subsidies on agriculture by Northern countries, farmers are initiating their own "safety nets" by organizing themselves into cooperatives and engaged in organic farming and cooperative marketing as countervailing measures.

Fourth, there will be a tremendous push in cooperative membership as cooperatives are increasingly becoming the liberating force on agrarian reform. With the 5-year extension of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, cooperatives are now the vehicle to strengthen agrarian reform beneficiaries for the much-needed support services and thus, make agrarian reform successful.

Fifthly, the cooperatives are now advancing the rights of the consumers and standing firm on their advocacy for the conversion of so-called Electric Cooperatives (ECs) into genuine cooperatives. And why not? Knowing that it is the member-consumers who are all along paying for the amortization of loans and the re-investment items integrated in their monthly billings, it is just a matter of time for these cooperatives to register with CDA. Such is made more imperative by the provision in RA9520 that ECs cannot enjoy the privilege of tax exemption unless they are registered with CDA. Registering with CDA will mean some 7 million member-consumers of ECs will then and there become cooperative members.

Sixthly, the call for peace in Mindanao through cooperativism has now become a crusade. As more and more will join the call for peace, cooperativism will be that long-awaited path to resolve the centuries-old conflict. CDA in consultation with the Muslim, Lumads and Christians, came up with the 6-path to peace that now is gaining headways. As cooperativism and peace become the two sides of the same coin, peace loving citizens will surely become cooperative members.
All told, all the above-mentioned parameters of engagements will form part of the strategic roadmap to expand cooperative membership.

CAPABILITY-BUILDING AND ENHANCEMENT through Cooperative Training Institute (2nd Agenda)

A country's number one resource is its people and thus, developing their capabilities should be a priority. A country that has not developed its human capital is now penalized by slow growth.

Based on this truism, it behooves upon CDA to include in its agenda to advance human resource development. Cooperative members and leaders should be competent. There is a need to enhance their skills and capabilities through trainings. They should be equipped with what is the trend in leadership, management styles and innovations. Attendance to various business opportunities, for example, must be undertaken.

Education and training programs with the cooperative sector need to be synchronized and institutionalized, if the direction is towards establishment of standards and ensuring the quality and effectiveness of the training program.

It is along this line that the establishment of Training Institutes has become imperative, if possible, in every region. Such can be done through the efforts of a consortium of cooperatives and other stakeholders where necessary.

This is also to underscore the importance of strengthening the capabilities of the Cooperative Development Officers who are the alter ego of CDA at the Municipal and provincial level. They are the link of CDA and the LGUs. They can make or break cooperative development at their own sphere of responsibilities. It is therefore important to capacitate and make them effective in carrying out the program to advance cooperativism.

RECOGNITION AND AWARDS (3rd Agenda)

In our journey to make life better for our people through cooperativism, there created milestones which must be emulated. It behooves that there be due recognition and award for the purpose of modeling, replication and up-scaling to showcase best practices.

The recognition and awards will be at the regional and national levels. Guidelines will be prepared by the CDA.

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