SAN FERNANDO, La Union
Celebrating the significant contributions of cooperatives in the progress of the Province of La Union, the Provincial Government of La Union through the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist kicked off the Cooperatives Month Celebration with a coastal cleanup drive, dubbed as “Project
RAFY,” at Agoo Eco Park, Barangay Sta. Rita, Agoo, La Union on October 2, 2023.
With the theme, “Cooperative: Pioneering the Path to Recovery Amidst Modern Challenges of Climate Change and Food Security,” the project RAFY: Restoring our Abundant & Fascinating Environment for the Youth aimed to raise awareness about marine conservation and promote sustainability in the community, especially to the youth.
A total of 314 participants joined the event which included 28 Cooperatives/Associations, Cooperative officers and members in La Union, PGLU Employees, CDA R1 Extension Office Staff, LGU Agoo employees, Barangay Officials of Sta. Rita East, Sta. Rita West, Sta. Rita Norte and Sta. Rita Central, Agoo, La Union, Agoo La Union MVAssn. officers and members, Sta. Rita Fishermen’s Association officers and members, Agoo Montessori Learning Center & High School Inc. faculty, students, and members of Laboratory Cooperative, and Mutia ti La Union 2023 – Kristine Billy Mateo (Sudipen), Mutia ti Agri-Turismo 2023- Anjali Kumar (Bauang), Mutia ti Kalikasan 2023- Patricia Nicole Bangug (Agoo), and Mutia ti La Union 1st Runner-up: Zyra Mae Esquivel Carbonell (San Juan).
During the month-long celebration, various training and seminars were conducted geared towards
cooperatives, upscaling coop support, especially on agri-digitalization Phase I, the Agri-Registry, the profiling of farmers and fisherfolk. This was participated in by CDA registered and compliant/operating cooperatives, farmers, fisherfolk, associations, agri-entrepreneurs, and MSMEs coming from the lone city and 19 municipalities of the Province of La Union.
The culminating activity took place on October 20, 2023, at the La Union Convention Center, Sevilla, City of San Fernando, La Union where 197 participants attended the culminating activity and were fully engaged in the discussions. Ms. Sharon A. Viloria, OIC-Provincial Agriculturist, mentioned that cooperatives are always tapped as active partners towards agricultural development, especially the awardees who will serve as inspiration to other cooperatives.
The awardee, Mr. Romulos F. Layug, incumbent General Manager of Tubao Multi-Purpose Cooperative, also shared best practices and their success story highlighting God’s blessing and guidance of the Holy Spirit making the cooperative survive under the principles of self-reliance, true Christian spirit, and apostolic sacrifices of the past and present officers, management, and members. Gov. Rafy Ortega-David emphasized in her message that she will continue to raise standards of living not only for members of cooperatives but also for all kaprobinsiaan.
She requests that everyone present at the event join in heeding the call for La Union PROBINSYAnihan and make the province that exemplifies Bayanihan to establish La Union in leading agriculture and tourism in the near future. The PGLU remains steadfast in pursuing cooperative programs duly aligned with the Governor’s vision of positioning La Union as the Heart of Agri-Tourism in Northern Luzon by 2025. The OPAg as the lead department, will continuously strive to sustain its gains and design a strategic programa blueprint for cooperatives today and in the years ahead.
Vanessa C. Badua, GPC-OPAg
November 11, 2023
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