Saturday, January 05, 2008 Tibal-og banana coop fenced off By Carlo P. Mallo
A GROUP of agrarian reform beneficiaries in Santo Tomas, Davao del Norte cried harassment after a giant agriculture company kept them out of their cooperative.
Reports reaching Sun.Star Davao showed the agrarian reform beneficiaries of the Tibal-og plantation of the Marsman-Drysdale Group has been denied entry to their cooperative after this was fenced off with barbed wires and surrounded by armed men.
The agrarian reform beneficiaries have formed the Marsman Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Cooperative (Marbco) operating more or less 200 hectares of export grade cavendish banana plantations.
Sun.Star Davao tried to reach the Marsman-Drysdale Group through its trunkline, but was not able to contact anyone.
The reason for the fencing off is believed to be the cooperative members' plan to transfer the sale of their harvest from the Marsman-Drysdale Group to another company. The beneficiaries have been complaining about the lopsided deal they have with Marsman-Drysdale, which restricts their profitability.
The Marsman-Drysdale Group is one of the largest agricultural companies operating in Southern Mindanao.
