Buy-Back Scheme! Solving Farmers’ Woes In Marketing Products

One of the most common problem aired by farmers whenever I get to talk with them is the marketing of their produce given the reality that the market system of agricultural products in the country is controlled by traders and middlemen.
Lured by good prices during off-harvest season, farmers of Alamada, North Cotabato planted hundreds of hectares of “Kalabasa.”
And who would not be tempted to invest in “Kalabasa” when the price was P30 per kilo which means that if the farmer harvests 10 tons, which is very low, he will earn P300,000.
The problem was when harvest season came, the buying price dropped to as low as P3 per kilo and some farmers opted not to harvest their squash anymore.
In introducing two new crops to the farmers of Alamada, Sorghum and Soybeans, I presented two new schemes – Partnership Farming or Growership Agreement With Buy-Back Scheme.
In the Partnership Farming, I will plant Soybeans in their land.
After harvest I will Buy-Back the produce at an agreed price, deduct the expenses and we share the net income 50-50.
Under the Growership Agreement for Sorghum, our company, Southseas Agri-Aqua Ventures, Inc. will provide them the seeds and technical assistance with the farmers undertaking all the other activities.
They could also avail of the tractor services which I offer on a Plow-Now-Pay-Later Scheme, including the services of a drone for spraying and a Mechanical Harvester.
After harvest, SAAV Inc. Buys-Back the Sorghum at an agreed price.
I will just deduct the cost of the seeds and the tractor services and the farmer gets all of the earnings after the deduction of expenses.
This is not a new scheme here in Mindanao as many agricultural companies have already been doing this and while the complaint had always been “hindi makaka-jackpot si farmer” because of a pre-agreed price, this actually protects him from traders and middlemen.
With a fixed and pre-agreed buying price, the farmer could project how much he would earn at the end of the season and he will not have to worry whether there is a market for his produce or whether he would make a profit or not.

#profitabilityspursproductivity!