Barter System Experiment! Prutas Mula Sa Cotabato; Talaba Galing Zamboanga

On Friday, Sept. 23, coastal farmers and fishermen of Kabasalan, Zamboanga Sibugay led by 2022 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee Roberto “Ka Dodoy” Ballon will start selling fresh fruits to mark the launching of a Modified Barter System engagement with fruit farmers from both North and South Cotabato.
The fresh fruits, mainly Pineapple, Pomelo, Papaya and Lacatan Bananas, will be brought to Kabasalan by my old Isuzu Elf on Thursday just in time for the launching of the “Prutasan sa Kabasalan” Friday.
On the way back to Cotabato, the truck would be loaded with about 5 tons of Talaba, Bagongon and Banisil, including available fresh fish caught by fishermen, just in time for the market day of M’lang on Saturday, Kidapawan City on Sunday, Makilala on Monday and the New Rizal Market in M’lang on Tuesday.
I have asked my younger brother, M’lang Vice Mayor Joselito Piñol, to handle the distribution of the shells and Talaba in the markets of Cotabato and ensure that we are able to recover the investments to keep the Barter System going.
This idea of exchanging products between several areas of Mindanao was actually hatched when I was still Chairman of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) when I designed the Mindanao Food Supply and Demand Map.
A small agency with an annual budget of only P180-M, MinDA could only design projects and submit these for funding by other bigger agencies and unfortunately, the project did not get funding.
In my last visit to Kabasalan, two weeks ago, I was presented with a problem of the overpopulation of the Bagongon and Banisil by fishpond owner and town councilor Nonoy Chu who said that the shells, considered as pests by fishpond owners, devoured the moss and algae intended for the Bangus.
I then asked him if the people of Kabasalan would like to have fruits like Papaya and Pineapple which the farmers of South Cotabato were producing in big volumes and selling at very low prices.
When he said yes, the Modified Barter System was hatched.
What this experiment would like to prove is that if there is a system that would bring the excess agricultural production of one area to places where these are in short supply, prices for consumers could be stabilized while the farmer-producers would profit from their labor.
If we are able to do this nationwide, there is actually no reason for us to depend on imported food commodities because our farmers could produce enough, provided they get a fair price for their produce.
#KungGustoMaramingParaan!
#GovernanceIsCommonSense!