ILOILO – Can farmers in Panay Island sustain the newly-inaugurated P11.8-million Panay Local Food Center and Terminal in San Miguel, Iloilo?
The facility’s funder, Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), hopes so, citing the Philippines’ traditional cooperative culture of bayanihan.
The Panay Local Food Center and Terminal, inaugurated early last month and formally turned over by KOICA to the Department of Agriculture (DA) on March 1, is a major food terminal where farmers from across the island would deliver their produce via various “bayanihan tipon centers” (BTC) for better marketing opportunities.
BTC is the name given to agricultural produce consolidation centers set up in 10 upland municipalities of – Libacao and Madalag in Aklan province; Patnongon, Sebaste and Tobias Fornier in Antique; Jamindan and Tapaz in Capiz; and Alimodian, Lambunao and Tubungan in Iloilo.
KOICA president Lee Mikyung said bayanihan spirit should result to the sustainable operation of the Panay Local Food Center and Terminal.
DA secretary Manny Piñol who also graced the turnover agreed.
“Involving farmers in the process is the very safe way to ensure sustainability. This is stakeholder-driven so this would likely succeed,” he said.
The Panay Local Food Center and Terminal is the third part of the three-phase 2015 Panay Island Upland Sustainable Rural Development Project (PIU-SRDP) of the DA funded by KOICA.
According DA Region 6 director Remelyn Recoter, 11 farmers’ organizations with an average of 50 members each would directly benefit from the project.
PIU-SRDP aims to enhance the quality of life – especially indigenous people’s – in the upland communities of Panay Island.
Under the project’s Phase 1, a total of 15 pilot upland barangays participated in village environmental improvement projects.
Phase 2 focused on income-generating projects that sought to help increase household income of select upland barangays. Farm input distribution systems were set up. Farmers’ associations were provided training on agricultural techniques.
Phase 3, on the other hand, involved the promotion / marketing of farm produce, thus the establishment of the Panay Local Food Center and Terminal.
Usually, before farm products reach consumers, these pass through several layers of traders and middlemen. This makes farmers lose control over the prices of their produce. The BTCs and Panay Local Food Center and Terminal address this./PN
