Seeing farmers become the manufacturers and entrepreneurs of their own products is a dream come true for Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Manny F. Piñol.

The DA chief shared his delight during the launching of the Pilipinas Agila Tires, the first local farmer-owned tire brand in the country, on April 26, 2019.

“The event marks the first step in the dream of the country’s rubber farmers to process their raw rubber produce to high value products,” Secretary Piñol said.

Owned by the Philippine Rubber Farmers Cooperative (PRFC) and manufactured by the Leo Tire Manufacturing in Valenzuela, the Pilipinas Agila Tires is the product of the Agriculture Department’s initiative to organize rubber farmers and elevate their status.

In 2017, DA organized the cooperative and helped them avail of a P10-million loan from the Agriculture Credit Policy Council (ACPC) to start up their business.

“This is just the beginning,” Piñol said as he announced that 10,000 pieces of 300 x 17 motorcycle tires will initially be marketed a week after the product launch.

The Pilipinas Agila Tires will be available in the Province of North Cotabato where the PRFC is currently based and will be marketed in the other parts of the country soon.

The Filipino farmer-owned tire brand is also slated to release new products such as tractor tires and other commonly used tires.

The product launch coincided with the first Production Loan Easy Access (PLEA) Partners’ Reception and Recognition of the ACPC.

Piñol announced that similar effort will be undertaken to support the small farmers in the coconut industry, rice industry, fisheries, and other sectors wherein the producers depend on the prices dictated by traders. ### (Gumamela Celes Bejarin, DA-AFID)