The DA launched on Friday four of the trading centers in Benguet, Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija and North Cotabato.
The trading centers are designed to allow more than 12,000 farmers “skip through layers of middlemen” and bring their produce directly to lucrative markets, according to Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala.
Under the P913 million worth of projects, the DA, in partnership with local governments and the private sector, will provide farmers with a venue where they can sell their commodities at fairer prices, he said.
“This is not just about the farmers and the traders. It’s all part of a chain system,” Alcala said, adding that the objective of the project is to lower and stabilize food prices as well as achieve food self-sufficiency.
The Benguet trading center will be constructed in four-hectare compound on the campus of Benguet State University. It will focus on trading upland or “chopsuey (mixed)” vegetables, including carrots, lettuce, chayote, and broccoli among others.
It is expected to benefit more than 5,000 farmers from nearby provinces, the DA said.
On the other hand, the Pangasinan and Nueva Ecija trading centers will be spread over four hectares and two-and-a-half hectares, respectively, to serve as the main trading posts for lowland vegetables, such as squash, eggplant, and bitter gourd.
More than 3,000 farmers are expected to benefit from the initial operation, the DA said.
Finally, the University of Southern Mindanao (USM) Halal Training and Development Center in North Cotabato will host the fourth facility.
It will serve as slaughterhouse and trading post for livestock animals like goat and sheep and will serve approximately 1,000 livestock farmers trading around nearby areas, the DA said.
Alcala said the trading centers would be patterned from a project he started as a Quezon representative, the “Sentrong Pamilihan ng Produktong Agrikultura ng Quezon,” which was established in 2006 and raised the incomes of the farmers.
Benguet Gov. Nestor B. Fongwan said the main challenges facing farmers in his province included the importation of vegetables and rampant smuggling. He said it was important to support vegetable farmers so “we can compete in the world market.”