The National Onion Growers' Cooperative Marketing Association (NOGROCOMA)

Despite its record of growth over 40 years, the past decade has been especially difficult for NOGROCOMA. Among its toughest challenges are:

• Technological Improvements: Dulce estimates that about 10% of members’ onions are lost each year because of inadequate cold storage facilities. Members also need better irrigation infrastructure. NOGROCOMA has to help its members finance and adopt these new technologies. Dulce believes that greater involvement by the University of the Philippines Post-Harvest Technology Center could be beneficial.
  
  
• Attrition: In recent years,thecooperativehaslost75% of its members to attrition. Most of the remaining 200 farmer-members are larger land owners, with plots of 5-10 hectares. Because every departing member gets back his or her annual contribution of PHP 500 (US $10.50), the loss of members has put huge financial burdens on the cooperative. It also makes it that much harder to meet demand consistently, and to continue providing services to members such as affordable credit. The ongoing changes in membership also mean IPM methods need to be taught year after year.
  
  
• Global Competition: NOGROCOMA’s reliance on one crop, onions, has been severely undercut by free trade. It is now important for the cooperative to diversify its line of products.
  
  
• Insurance: Typhoon Crising hit Luzon in May 2009 and wiped out 60% of the standing onion crop for these members credit during hard times have backed away. NOGROCOMA needs to find new sources of insurance for its members.
  

Despite these challenges, NOGROCOMA has reliably provided benefits for its members, their families, and their communities for 50 years. It has created jobs in farming, storage, and marketing. It has increased farm and non- farm income, which has enabled many members to send their children to school. Its commitments to zero waste, to minimizing chemicals, and to IPM have resulted in better environmental conditions and better public health. With this impressive track record, few doubt that NOGROCOMA will survive.