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 Believing in the emerging role of social enterprises as a strategy to achieve over-all equitable growth and development; and, at the same time in terms of developing resource capacities of cause-oriented non-government organizations, the La Liga Koop was founded in 2007 through the initiatives of the Board of Directors and staff of the La Liga Policy Institute.
Officially registered on June 2008 under the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA), the Koop has an authorized share capital of PhP 888,000.00 with subscribed share capital amounting to PhP 222,000. The cooperative has 40 members composed of leaders and professionals from non-government organizations. It is manned by 5 working Board of Directors and 3 full time staff. La Liga Koop Programs
Upon its establishment, the Koop has initiated three (3) programs: (a) a Credit and Lending Program; (b) Organic Rice Promotion and Trading Program; and, (c) Envi-Cleaning Products Promotion and Marketing Program. Initiatives undertaken by the La Liga Koop take into consideration both the income-generating potentials of the endeavour but as well as the programs’ contribution to La Liga’s core advocacy of sustainable rural development. Credit and Lending Programs
Aiming to provide accessible financial resources for cooperative members in cases of need and emergency, the Credit and Lending Program was the first program of the Koop. Through a well-defined and strictly-followed credit policy, income generated from this program has allowed the Koop to venture into new projects. Organic Rice Promotion and Trading Program
In 2009 the Koop’s leadership and members decided to embark on a program which focuses on the trading of organic rice. After a successful project undertaken by its affiliate the La Liga Policy Institute in cooperation with Go Organic! Philippines which promoted farmers’ shift to organic farming and promoted the organic lifestyle, the Koop was able to build organic rice producers’ and consumers’ network. Through active representation in various trade fairs, the Koop was able to further enhance its reach into the emerging organic rice market in the Philippines.
La Liga Koop along with its partners within Go Organic! Philippines provides assistance to its network of organic rice producers by: (a) providing capability building activities geared at improving the know-how of farmers in producing their own organic fertilizers; (b) directly buying farmers’ produce at a fair price; (c) linking up with consumers and buyers; (d) policy support particularly in the issue of self regulation and farmer friendly certification mechanisms; and, (e) marketing support such as post-production, market studies, retail pricing, packaging and labelling.
The cooperative offers three (3) varieties of unpolished organic rice – brown, red and black rice. We directly transact with local farmers from Bulacan, Bataan, Nueva Ecija, Isabela, Mindoro Oriental, Albay, Camarines Sur and Western Pangasinan. Currently, the La Liga Koop through Go Organic! Philippines has a network of around 600 individual farmers and seven (7) local farmers’ organizations that are currently into organic farming.
Apart from direct marketing, as a strategy the marketing approach adopted by the Koop utilizes new media which includes a cell phone based info-text service; and, the internet – website, online ordering, emails, egroups, facebook and blogs. To date, La Liga-Koop caters to different markets for organic rice – NGO workers, environmentalists, wellness advocates, teachers, cooperatives and even with artists we also have our own network. Because of the positive impact of this initiative, the Koop is studying the viability of expanding its product line to include other organic agricultural and products such as vegetables, free range chickens, organic eggs; et al. *La Liga-KOOP was duly registered and certified accordingly by the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) on the 30th of June 2008, with C. R. # N – 623 – 6502. Contact Details
ANNA RIA B. MANAHAN
Coop-Manager, La Liga Koop
(632) 433-7875;
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Unit 304 Tempus Place Building I, Matalino St.,
Barangay Central, Diliman, Quezon City
Philippines 1101
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