The Carrots of the Igorot farmers in Cordillera or the Tala-andig tribesmen of Bukidnon which they sell at farm gate for P15 to P20 per kilo could be bought by consumers at below P50 per kilo only if government will establish food consolidation, processing, packaging and distribution terminals in all production and urban centers of the country.
Ang ating mga economic planners and policy makers na nagsasabing mataas ang cost of production ng ating mga magsasaka at hindi competitive sa Vietnamese farmers ay nakalimot na tayo ay isang bansa ng mahigit 7,000 islands.
Alam ba nila na mas mahal ang magdala ng produktong agrikultura mula Mindanao papuntang Manila kaysa mag-ship ng saging mula Davao papuntang Japan?
Kagabi, nakatanggap ako ng text mula sa isang trucker na may dalang mga produkto papuntang Mindanao at ang sabi nya Linggo pa sya dumating sa Port of Liloan, Leyte pero hanggang ngayon ay hindi pa sya nakakasakay sa ferry.
Being stranded for 5 days means additional costs for trucking which will be passed on to the consumers.
Marami tayong mga produkto tulad ng kamatis ng Nueva Viscaya, isda mula Zamboanga at pati kalabasa ng Bukidnon na itinatapon na lang kasi hindi makakarating sa merkado because the cost of transport is higher than the price of the commodity.
Our Economic Managers say the easiest solution is to import because our farmers are not competitive and our products are more expensive.
Had they taken time to go out of their air-conditioned offices and ventured to the countryside, they would have realized that we have over 12,000 kilometers of rural roads which need to be built so that the farmers could bring their produce to the market at the lowest possible cost.
Had they visited the fishing communities, they would have known that our problem is not the lack of fish in our waters but the lack of ice making and post harvest facilities to preserve the catch.
Had they looked at the map of the Philippines, they would have realized that we are an archipelagic country and the movement of
goods from one island to another entails a huge expense.
Mahal ang abono at farm inputs kasi kailangan pa itong ibyahe mula sa mga siyudad papuntang bukid at mura ang mga produkto ng magsasaka sa ganoon ding kadahilanan.
What are the solutions?
First, our policy makers must realize that our problem is not the production of food but the movement and repositioning of goods.
Second, Government must build enabling infrastructures – rural roads and bridges, ports and post-harvest faciltiies.
Third, given the physical limitations in the movement of goods because of the fact that we are geographically fragmented as a country, dapat makialam ang gobyerno sa consolidation, processing, packaging at strategic respositioning ng supply ng pagkain sa buong bansa.
Hindi puedeng ipaubaya sa private business groups ang movement of very critical food commodities kasi walang negosyante na magpapalugi, lalo na kapag panahon ng kalamidad.
What am I proposing?
Let us revive and expand the coverage of the Food Terminal Incorporated, a government-owned and controlled corporation under the National Food Authority, established by a Presidential Decree issued by President Marcos 50 years ago.
Bawat major food production area, dapat may FTI Regional Consolidation, Processing and Packaging Terminals na lilikom ng lahat ng produkto ng mga magsasaka at mangingisda upang dalhin sa mga region kung saan ito kailangan.
Dapat ang magsasaka at mangingisda ay hindi na pahirapan pang maghanap ng pagbebentahan ng kanyang produkto sapagkat guided sya ng FTI RCPPT kung ano ang kailangan ng merkado at magkano ito bibilhin sa kanya.
Ang magsasaka ng Kamatis sa Nueva Viscaya dapat ay walang alalahanin kung saan ibebenta at kung magkano ang presyo ng kanyang kamatis dahil guided sya ng FTI RCPPT na sya namang mag-distribute nito sa buong bansa.
Ang mangingisda ng Tawitawi, Sulu, Basilan, Zamboanga at iba pa ay manghuhuli na lang ng isda ot yong mga fish cage farmers ng Bangus ay magpaparami na lang ng produkto at i-deliver na lang sa FTI RCPPT.
Market Access and stability of farm gate prices should not be a burden on the part of our food producers.
It should be government which should handle the consolidation, processing, packaging and distribution of the commodities.
In areas surrounding the big cities, there should also be FTI Food Distribution Terminals where consumers could go to directly and buy their needs or where small market vendors could source the goods that they would sell in their communities.
So, from the many hands through which our food products go through from the farm to the dining table of Filipinos, mababawasan ang patong-patong sa presyo at mas sariwa ang mabibiling pagkain.
If we are able to establish FTI RCPPTs all over the country, our farmers and fishermen would be more productive and our consumers would have access to fresh and affordable food.
More than that, an active and vibrant food production and local processing industries would mean more jobs for our people in the countryside and even in the urban centers.
The institutional infrastructure is already existing, the FTI, and all that we need to do is fund it so it could establish the FTI RCPPTs and the FTI FDCs all over the country.
#GovernanceIsCommonSense!
#KungGustoMaramingParaan!
#WeCouldBeNumberOne!
(Video by Mayette Tudlas)
https://www.facebook.com/100044577333084/videos/413355420179200
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