By Manny Piñol
La Trinidad, Benguet (Late Post) – Farmers from Mindanao and the Cordillera have agreed to start a trading arrangement which will see Bananas, pomelos, pineapple, fish and meat from Mindanao delivered to La Trinidad and strawberries, potatoes, carrots and other high-value vegetables transported to the South.
The trading arrangement similar to the barter trade of olden Filipinos was forged by farmers groups from both during the successful TienDA sa Cordillera on Friday in the Benguet Agri-Pinoy Trading Center (BAPTC), a trading facility owned and operated by the Department of Agriculture and the Benguet State University.
Farmer-leader Eclesiastes Roque, Jr., whose cooperative is engaged in the delivery of Lacatan Bananas to Luzon, said his group will initially consolidate fruits which will be delivered to the BAPTC for distribution to Cordillera markets.
On the way back, the refrigerated vans will be loaded with strawberries, potatoes, carrots and other high value vegetables which are needed in Samar, Leyte, Caraga Region, Davao and Central Mindanao.
Roque said the trading arrangement will start as soon as his group acquires on lease at least six units of refrigerated vans to ensure that the products arrive in both destinations fresh with very little damage.
He said food items to be shipped to the Cordillera would later include fish and other marine products from the fishing grounds of Mindanao.
The TienDA sa Cordillera was staged by the Agribusiness and Marketing Office of the Agriculture Department under Undersecretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat.
It is an advocacy program of the Department to connect farmers with consumers directly so that farmers and fishermen will enjoy a good price for their produce while consumers will have access to affordable food items.
(Photos of the TienDA sa Cordillera were taken by DA-AFID and DA-CAR RAFID.)
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