BONTOC, Mountain Province – Mountain Province has officially kicked off its celebration of the Regional Cooperative Month with the opening of the Agri-Industrial Trade Fair.
The ribbon-cutting of the trade fair was held during the Flag ceremony and Monday Program of the Provincial Government at the Multi-Purpose frontage yesterday. It was led by Provincial Administrator Franklin C. Odsey, representing Governor Bonifacio C. Lacwasan, Jr., together with Board Members Richardo Masidong, Jr., Jazzel-Mae P. Masidong and Angel Moises T. Tamang, Mountain Province Cooperative Union (MPCU) Chair Atty. Florence N. Taguiba, and Cooperative Development Authority representative Aida Pati.
The cooperative month celebration goes with the theme: “Cooperatives: Pioneering the Path to Recovery Amidst Modern Challenges of Climate Change and Food Security.”
According to Senior Cooperative Development Specialist Venus O. Padayao, the Cooperative Month Celebration serves as a tribute to the spirit of cooperation and unity.
“Cooperatives are built on the principles of people working together for a common goal, pooling their resources and sharing the benefits. This unity is a core value that strengthens communities across the nation. In Mountain Province, it holds a special place in our hearts, as the rugged terrain has historically made cooperation essential for survival. By celebrating Cooperative Month in October, we honor the spirit of cooperation that has sustained us for generations, ” she said.
“October is chosen for this celebration for a reason. It is a time when the harvest season is in full swing. The bountiful produce from our farms reminds us of abundance that can be achieved through collective effort. This symbolism is particularly meaningful in Mountain Province where agriculture and traditional farming practices are central to our way of life,” Padayao added.
Meanwhile, MPCU Chairperson Taguiba encouraged everyone to collaborate and contribute in improving and strengthening the existing path to recovery in response to the challenges of climate change.
“This we can do by using our personal and institutional resources in compliance with the very purpose of recovery,” she said.
Moreover, Board Member Tamang, as the Sangguniang Panlalawigan Chairperson on Committee on Cooperatives, NGOs, POs, Trade and Industry, underscored how cooperatives greatly helped the people of Mountain Province in facing the challenges brought about by climate change.
“Let us consider the climate changing practices of humanity, our continuing practice of producing greenhouse gases. The devastation of the ozone layer, deforestation that causes landslides which in it destroys lives and properties. These practices can be managed if and when everyone of us participates in educating the people about the disastrous effects of such activities,” he said.
Furthermore, Cooperative Development Authority Representative Pati expressed her encouragement to all the attendees to work, recover, and solve various problems together for the good of the cooperatives.
In his closing, Provincial Administrator Odsey, on behalf of Governor Bonifacio C. Lacwasan, Jr., emphasized the importance of further reinforcing the cooperatives in Mountain Province and strengthening the food production and security in Mountain Province thru benchmarking and adaptation of good practices from other places/countries.
“The cooperative in Mountain Province is alive. But it can be better still if we take inspiration and learn from the countries which the Philippines mentored more than half a century ago. In those countries, farmers are prospering and they are the backbone of their country. In the Philippines, being a farmer is equated with being poor. If we in Mountain Province can instill in our youth that there is a future in farming, that abundance can be achieved in agriculture, then perhaps all is lost. For how can we have food security when we only have a handful of farm coops compared with our neighbors? And how can we have farm coops when most of our children dream to be anything but farmers? Like all problems, this can be remedied,” he said.
In addition, Odsey said that organic agriculture, traditional weaving, and tourism are other industries in the province which can be further developed through cooperatives.
