Don’t Just Produce, Market Your Products Too

By Venus G. Villanueva

DA Secretary Arthur Yap trying the shredder machine with former Numancia Mayor Ernesto I. Templonuevo during Yap’s visit in the Numancia Agri-Aqua Techno-Demo Farm. (Photo by Jun F. Villorente)

"Don’t just produce, market your products too", Yap reminds Aklan farmers. "For Aklan farmers to earn more, they should focus on production, use post harvest and storage facilities to preserve and protect their produce, and market these themselves – for the money is in the markets."
These were Department of Agriculture Sec. Arthur Yap’s message to Aklan farmers and fishermen in a dialogue facilitated by the Agricultural Training Institute during his August 31 visit to Aklan held at Numancia Agri-Aqua Techno-Demo Farm.
Sec. Yap said the government is now focusing more on the preservation of farmers’ produce through the National Post Harvest Program so they could earn more."If your rice or corn is dried well, it is of good quality, instead of earning just P7.00 per kilo, you could sell a kilo in the market for P11.00 or P12.00 pesos", Yap admonished the farmers.
Yap also invited the farmers to market their farm products in Metro Manila where there are now 9 Bagsakan Centers open for their produce for marketing.
"If you have products in Aklan you wish to sell in Manila, tell us. We will give you a free space in our Bagsakan Centers. You bring your produce through the RORO, we will provide you food link stickers so your truck carrying your goods goes straight to the market," Yap assured the farmers.
"The way I see it however, you don’t have to market your products to Manila. Here in the Visayas alone, your produce will already be consumed. Boracay, for instance, gets its lettuce supply from Baguio. Green peppers come from other provinces. Why can’t you plant these in Aklan?" Yap challenged the farmers, urging them instead to supply the needs of their own region.
Yap also advised that since Aklan has a small area for farming, farmers should focus more on high-value crops. He pointed out that there is money in cut flowers and vegetables if the right markets are found.
"Seafoods in Aklan are also of good quality. Your prawns and crabs are bigger, and you have special shells here not found in other provinces. You can find markets for these in Bohol and Cebu," Yap told the fisherfolks present.
"Let’s do business, not just production," Yap emphasized.
Sec. Yap ended his dialogue by awarding Quick Turn-Around (QTA) seeds and drum seeder to the different farmers’ groups in Aklan, and personally handed the Certificate of Recognition Award to Nadya Patricia Sauza, an Aklanon student who made an exceptional investigatory project on the viability of producing biodiesel fuel from animal fat.
Aside from meeting Aklan farmers and fishermen, Sec. Yap visited Aklan to witness the unveiling of Cardinal Jaime L. Sin’s statue in new Washington, Aklan. Sec. Yap said Cardinal Sin was his Father Confessor during his school days at Xavier School. /MP