DAR orients farmers’ organizations to boost their cooperatives in CamSur

PILI, Camarines Sur – The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) recently conducted an orientation to 12 agrarian reform beneficiary organizations (ARBOs) to capacitate its farmer members with basic knowledge and skills on organizational management, financial reporting, and taxation.

DAR Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer Renato C. Bequillo said the activity dubbed “Coopmustahan,” aims to create an avenue for the ARBOs and the different line agencies to engage in a meaningful dialogue.

“The purpose of the CoopMustahan is to provide our farmers’ cooperatives, as well as others aspiring to become an ARBO, updates on the programs and projects of different government agencies, such as the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), which can help strengthen cooperatives,” Bequillo said.

DAR Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer Rodel C. Martirez said that aside from the 12 established ARBOs, two aspiring ARB organizations also participated in the activity.

“DAR does not only give land. Our agency, more importantly, provides different support services to ARBs, which will help them make their lands more productive. This activity is only one of the many support services we give to our ARBs,”Martirez said.

Resource speaker from CDA Marie Chris G. Valencia discussed the role of CDA in the growth and sustainability of cooperatives, as well as the agency’s annual reportorial requirements. She also reminded the participants to religiously comply with the requirements to avoid being tagged as a non-compliant cooperative.

BIR speaker Cesar Sarmiento focused on the intricacies of taxation on cooperatives. He also clarified the gray areas raised by the participants.

Arceli Sola of the Gatbo-San Francisco Irrigators Association expressed her gratitude to DAR for providing aspiring ARBO cooperatives with an avenue to acquire in-depth knowledge on establishing a cooperative.

"I am very grateful to the DAR for organizing this activity because it gave us more clarity on what we should do as an aspiring cooperative," she said.

Zenaida Austria of Buracan Farmers Agriculture Cooperative also thanked DAR for the opportunity to link with