The Atimonan Coastal Food Production Cooperative is the group behind the Atimonan’s homegrown Aplaya Spanish Sardines.
Atimonan Coastal Food Production Association, the local fisherfolk group in Quezon province supported by Atimonan One Energy, Inc. (A1E), has been officially registered as a cooperative.
Now called Atimonan Coastal Food Producers Cooperative (ACFPC), the group behind Aplaya Spanish sardines received its Certificate of Registration from the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) on June 10.
A1E and ACPFC have been working together since October 2019 to strengthen the organization and make the business sustainable.
The CDA is the lead government agency for the promotion of sustained growth and development of cooperatives in the Philippines.
As a registered cooperative, ACFPC is now entitled to various tax exemptions, trainings, and funding support for its business.
Composed of 20 members, ACFPC started as a local producer of bottled Spanish sardines. With the support of A1E, the local government of Atimonan, and other government agencies, the group has since expanded its product offerings.
It now sells milkfish in oil, deboned bangus and atsarang ubod.
“We are very grateful to A1E, Atimonan LGU and other agencies who are helping us to grow our business despite the pandemic,” said Marites Atienza, chairman of ACPFC.
“We will make sure that our business gets sustained and our customers can expect more products in the future,” she added.
ACPFC started as a project under A1E’s Kaisa sa Kabuhayan livelihood and enterprise development program that aims to uplift the lives of the residents of Atimonan.
A1E actively supports the group, facilitates trainings, and assists in marketing its products. The Atimonan local government provided the space for processing and logistical support and seeded initial capital for the group; while the Department of Trade and Industry – through the Negosyo Center Program — provided branding support and business counseling to the group.
Last March, A1E won an excellence award for the Aplaya Sardines livelihood project during the 18th Philippine Quill Awards organized by the International Association of Business Communicators.
A1E, a wholly owned subsidiary of Meralco Powergen Corporation, is the developer of 1,200-megawatt (MW) power station in Atimonan, Quezon that will utilize a highly efficient, low emission (HELE) coal technology.