|
By Armand M. Galang, Correspondent
LUPAO, Nueva Ecija: They have no formal business
education and, in fact, some of them have just returned to the
mainstream from various degrees of involvement in the communist
movement–from being active guerillas to plain sympathizers–who
now have turned into entrepreneurs.
Members of the Barangay Defense System
Multi-Purpose Cooperative based in former rebel-infested village of
Parista in the outskirt town of Lupao, Nueva Ecija impressed the
officials from the Department of Trade and Industry, Nueva Ecija
Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NECCI), and the Small and Medium
Enterprise Development Council after recording “substantial
growth” in their mushroom production launched eight months ago.
“What is admirable is how they managed with a
small investment for starters, how much more had their investment
been much more,” said Ms. Vicky Gaetos, president of the Nueva
Ecija SMED Council that provided an initial assistance of P50,000
for the cooperative.
Gaetos who is also president of the NECCI noted
on Wednesday that from only 2,000 mushroom fruiting bags in
February, the 38-family group now grows over 4,000 fruiting bags,
besides having other facilities including huts, a laboratory and
P40,000 cash in bank.
Members who actively work in the production earn
daily income that can support two to three children, she noted. That
was besides the dividend they can receive after an agreed period of
time, she noted.
The SMED Council that supervises the cooperative
provided cash incentives to each zone that met production
requirements during the distribution of share certificates on
Saturday.
Juan Divina, 72, a mushroom fruiting bag
producer, said the creation of the cooperative helped him augment
his family’s needs. He was among those who received cash
incentives for his group. He used to produce mushroom in his
backyards several years back but he encountered difficulties when
people in Parista could no longer roam around to look for materials
like banana leaves because of intense infightings between the
government and communist forces.
For the military, Brig. Gen. Manuel Mariano,
assistant commanding general of the Army’s 7th Infantry Division,
acknowledged the need of the townsfolk to have some means of
livelihood for the fight against insurgency to be successful.
“No amount of sending thousands of soldiers,
no amount of throwing in more sophisticated weapons can totally
erase dissidence and lawlessness here, if our people do not have the
will to see it done,” he said adding that peace can be attainable
through community development.
|
