Co-op’s pineapple venture gets Landbank loan

2023-04-24

Jordeene B. Lagare

Inquirer

MANILA -An agricultural cooperative in a South Cotabato town has secured funding from state-run Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank) to scale up its production of pineapples and pineapple fibers. In a statement, Landbank said it recently granted a P224-million loan to the T’Boli Farm Growers Multi-Purpose Cooperative which will be utilized to expand its operations and output. A large chunk of the Landbank financing—some P180 million—will augment the co-op’s working capital requirements to acquire farm inputs and cover other related costs.

Landbank releases P213 million loan for pineapple production

2012-12-13

Danessa Rivera

The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Land Bank of the Philippines is supporting pineapple production in South Cotabato with a P212.8-million loan. Landbank signed a loan with the Laconon 100 Multi-Purpose Cooperative (LMPC) to finance the co-op’s pineapple production and agricultural modernization efforts, to help sustain the growth of the local pineapple industry in the province. The financial support is expected to boost the production of pineapple farms managed by LMPC, with a combined area of over 1,400 hectares in the municipalities of T’boli, Surallah, Lake Sebu and Banga.

PSA REPORT ON PINEAPPLE MOST PROFITABLE CROP AN ILLUSION FOR FARMERS WITH GROWERSHIP AGREEMENTS WITH DOLE PHILIPPINES

2021-10-04

UMA Pilipinas

The Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA) today called the attention of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) for misleading the public when it reported that pineapple is the most profitable crop for Filipino farmers. This is an illusion for thousands of Filipino farmers and even agricultural workers, a number of which have become agrarian reform beneficiaries, and were forced to enter into growership and lease agreements with multinational companies such as Dole Philippines (Dolefil) in Polomolok and Tupi in South Cotabato. In a new agreement with Dolefil, growers in the above places sell their pineapple to the now Japanese owned company at only P5 per kilo which is way below the PSA’s boast that farm gate prices are at P19.37 per kilo.

Itochu to invest US$57.7m in bananas

2016-10-24

Gabrielle Easter

Farmlandgrab

Leading Japanese trader Itochu will invest ¥6bn (US$57.7m) in banana production through its Dole business, reports Nikkei. Itochu has set a goal of improving Asian banana production capacity 60 per cent by 2020 in a bid to secure supply for Japan, which will include upgrading farming methods, investing in irrigation and potentially moving farms to sites with better soil. Itochu’s wholly owned subsidiary Dole International Holdings reported a 30 per cent drop in banana production levels from 2012 to 2015, when it fell to 540,00 tonnes.

Ultimate parent of Dolefil. Itochu acquired Dole’s Asian fresh produce business, gaining 100% ownership of Dole Philippines. It provided capital (e.g. ~$58M additional in 2016) to expand plantations by ~55%. Itochu is one of the world’s largest sōgō shōsha (trading houses), and this project fit its strategy to grow its food division in emerging Asian markets.

Divestment – sold Asia assets for $1.7B to Itochu Corporation Dole Food Co. (US) was the owner of Dolefil until 2013. Chairman David Murdock agreed to sell Dole’s Asia fresh fruit and canning operations to Itochu. Post-sale, Dole Food (now Dole Plc) no longer has ownership in Dole Philippines. (This sale injected funds into Dole Food and transferred the entire Philippine venture to Itochu). Thus Dole Food’s role is historical; it built the initial plantations but is no longer an investor in the current project.

LandBank plays a facilitating role by lending to farmer cooperatives that partner with Dole. For example, it extended ₱212.8M to the Laconon 100 MPC in 2022 to fund pineapple production on ~1,400 ha. It also signed a tripartite MOA with Dolefil and the coop to ensure credit and technical support. Essentially, LandBank’s capital enables smallholders to participate in the Dole supply chain (buy inputs, equipment), with the assurance that Dole will buy their produce. This reduces risk for both Dole (steady supply) and farmers (market guarantee). LandBank’s involvement reflects government support to the venture in the form of affordable financing

2022-12-13

DARBCI consists of over 7,500 farmer-beneficiaries who legally own the land of Dole’s main plantation (Polomolok) after land reform. They are not investors in the monetary sense, but they contribute the critical asset of land. In return, they receive lease rental and bonuses from Dole, and many members work on the plantation. DARBCI’s partnership with Dolefil is central to the project’s land base. The coop’s role illustrates how land reform landholders have been integrated into a multinational’s operations via long-term contracts.

This cooperative of 445 farmer-members in T’boli, Surallah, Lake Sebu, Banga areas provides pineapples to Dole under a growership arrangement. The coop itself received loans (₱200M in 2017, ₱224M in 2023) to expand and mechanize its farms, showing an investment at the farmer level. Under the tie-up, Dolefil is the exclusive buyer of their produce. The coop and its members effectively invest their labor and land into the project. Their inclusion in the investment chain demonstrates how small producers are financially and contractually linked to the multinational’s operations.