From promises to productivity: Strengthening cooperatives for a resilient agriculture sector

In his July 2025 State of the Nation Address, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. again highlighted the importance of agriculture in the country’s development. He promised increased production, more budget for agricultural programs, better infrastructure, and safeguards against traders’ price manipulation. With urgency in his tone, he emphasized the need to modernize farming systems, expand access to markets, and raise the incomes of those who feed the nation. The President’s message was clear: agriculture must move from subsistence to sustainability, from tradition to transformation.

- JAIME ARISTOTLE B, ALIP, PHD

Yet amid national blueprints and billion-peso investments, one reality remains: no amount of machinery or subsidies will work without the empowerment of the people at the heart of agriculture — our farmers, fisherfolk, and rural entrepreneurs. To empower them effectively, we must invest in grassroots institutions that serve them best: cooperatives and community-based organizations.

These organizations are the unsung engines of agricultural productivity. They consolidate production, aggregate demand, lower costs, share risks, and connect smallholders to value chains and support services. A well-functioning cooperative can mean the difference between poverty and progress for a farming community. It can turn a lone farmer into a part of a collective force, one that has better bargaining power, financial access, and voice.

But many cooperatives remain fragile. Despite their potential, thousands of small coops struggle in isolation, unable to scale or sustain impact. The government and all development partners — including the business sector — must provide support to ensure that our agri-cooperatives and farmers/fishers’ organizations are not hampered by weak governance, outdated systems, limited professional management and inadequate access to technology, finance, and markets.

Ifweare serious about strengthening agriculture, we must strengthen cooperatives — not in isolation, but through partnerships that bring together government, business, and local communities.