The Department of Agriculture IV-CALABARZON (DA-4A) together with French delegates of the French Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty visited the Castile-Guinting Upland Marketing Cooperative (CGUMC) on 30 March 2023 in Barangay Casile, Cabuyao, Laguna.
The visit was in relation to the series of bilateral events with France, with the Farm and Fisheries Clustering and Consolidation (F2C2) Program as one of the key strategies being mainstreamed at the Department of Agriculture to achieve food sufficiency in the country. The Program aims to help farmers achieve and benefit from economies of scale, improve their bargaining and market power, and encourage active Big Brother-Small Brother partnerships and joint ventures among Farmer Cooperatives and Associations (FCAs).
The CGUMC is one of the clusters of the F2C2 Program in DA CALABARZON. The Cooperative is headed by its President, Gregorio L. Casalme. Their main commodity is coffee, along with vegetables (such as cucumber, squash, and eggplant) and fruits (such as banana, guyabano, and rambutan). Their area of production covers 150.72 hectares with 2,502 members.
CGUMC practices the Private Sector Business Model, in which the Cooperative buys the produce of their farmers and connects them to the private sector in order to sell their produce.
The French delegation was joined by Agricultural Attache to EU Ms. Kristine Yap, representatives of the International Affairs Division, representatives of F2C2 Central Office and DA CALABARZON, and the Local Government of Cabuyao.
