In 2023, DAI Asset Management (“DAI-AM”) visited a rural branch of one of our Philippine RFIs, OnePuhunan. OnePuhunan’s clients in Tagaytay are pineapple farmers who rely on the institution’s financial services to support their agricultural activities. The pineapple farmers in Tagaytay borrow from OnePuhunan during planting and clearing seasons to pay for labor and fertilizers. Laborers clear the pineapple fields of undergrowth, earning around 500 PHP (approximately $9) per day. Some borrowers also use their loan proceeds to open small sarisari shops on their property, selling snacks and drinks to passers-by and supplementing their household’s seasonal income from pineapple farming.
The pineapples grown in Tagaytay are purchased by brokers for multinational companies like Dole and Del Monte. These large buyers require pineapples in large quantities, so farmers often share the cost of renting a flatbed truck to collect their community’s harvest and transport them to the buyers, who pay a higher price per fruit. Smaller farmers also sell their pineapples on the roadside to tourists visiting Tagaytay’s picturesque lake.
One benefit of belonging to OnePuhunan’s 26-member borrowing group is that instead of selling by the road, these farmers use group meetings to coordinate collection of communal harvests by higher-paying brokers. The pineapple farmers appreciate being members of OnePuhunan for several reasons. The loan officer visits their homes to collect repayments, the interest rates are lower than local pawn shops, and banks are often unwilling to offer them loans. Additionally, the group meetings are held every two weeks, which is more convenient than the weekly meetings common at other microfinance institutions in the Philippines. OnePuhunan also offers a voluntary life insurance product for borrowers and their families, which is widely popular among the clients. Notably, 100 percent of OnePuhunan’s clients are self-employed women, highlighting the institution’s commitment to empowering female entrepreneurs in the rural Philippines.
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