Role of Cooperative in Improving the Accessibility to Credit for Production Resources of Backyard Pig Raisers in Batangas, Philippines <Articles>

The backyard (smallscale) pig sector is considered a key proponent in the development of Philippine agriculture, in general and of animal industry, in particular. For years, it outperforms the commercial pig sector in terms of the aggregate inventory, volume and value of production and number of direct dependents it employs nationwide. However, the marked increase of pork demand driven by rapid urbanization and population growth in major urban centers of Metro Manila and nearby provinces of Central and Southern Luzon regions hinder the local backyard pig sector to cope with the so-called "Livestock Revolution". With this phenomenon, backyard pig raisers are expected to upscale their farm operation in order to increase the domestic pork supply and to meet the rising demand of the people. The backyard pig raisers, having limited access to scarce production resources, find it difficult on their own to withstand the pressure exerted by commercial (largescale) pig operators especially in Central and Southern Luzon regions where the impacts of the "Livestock Revolution" is strongly felt. The assembly of backyard pig raisers to institutions like cooperatives is one of the potential measures promoted both by the government (public) and private sector to directly link them with the dynamics of the whole market chain ranging from procurement of critical production resources and services to the differentiated products of the output market. Cooperatives may improve not only their smallscale operation but their socioeconomic status as well. Based on a field survey, this paper aims to highlight the role of cooperatives in improving the accessibility of backyard pig raisers to credit for various production requirements to facilitate an optimum farm operation.