Officials of various Farmer’s Cooperative and Associations (FCAs) in Benguet being supported by the Department of Agriculture Cordillera (DA-CAR) underwent a three-day seminar-workshop on basic bookkeeping and accounting procedures in the management and operations of their FCAs.
The training workshop conducted on October 20, 2023, seeks to capacitate the cluster finance officers with basic skills in financial management, aside from designing their detailed development plan that will serve as their guide in accessing interventions coming from the DA-CAR and other government agencies supporting the agriculture sector for the next five years.
Bookkeeping is the process of recording the organization/company’s financial transactions into organized accounts on a daily basis. It can also refer to the different recording techniques businesses can use. Bookkeeping is an essential part of the accounting process, and cash flow statements.
The financial management for agri-business enterprise is a practical approach to financial decision-making for those involved in agri-business, including farmers, horticulturists, and supporting businesses to manage investment funds, physical resources, and labor.
Aside from bookkeeping procedures, the participants were oriented on basic accounting procedures that covered the definition and principles of accounting, the accounting process, books of accounts being used by cooperatives, cash disbursement journals, elements of accounting, basic financial statements and format, and standard chart of accounts.
The clustered FCAs for highland vegetables were represented by the Atok GAP cluster coming from the Liang Bonglo Farmers Association, Tolodan Oyusan FA, Cattubo Multipurpose Cooperative, Balangabang Multi Flower Color Association, Atok GAP Practitioners Incorporated, Green Prosperity MPC, Mountain Bloom MPC, and the Botiao Farmers Growers Association.
The Bakun Farmers Association was the cluster representative for potato tubers while the Dangkigan-Lein Mabilig Irrigators Association represented the potato stem cuttings cluster.
The Balili Highland Vegetable Cluster was represented by the Raniag, Blestdam, and the Manpat-a Farmers Cooperative.
The Bantay-Pisek-Kiweng Organization Incorporated or BANKIPOL represented the fisheries cluster, while the Madaymen Good Agricultural Practices Association was the only stand-alone cluster.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has set a broad definition for agriculture clusters. The model has been used in different forms across the world and can bring numerous benefits, increased cooperation, and the promotion of active dialogue between the public and private sectors and fostering integration in agricultural strategy development.
Crissa Datic of the Rice Banner Program of DA-CAR explained that the various clusters are expected to produce their Custer Development Plan for the next five years following the said training workshop.
