To Compostela farmers: DTI turns over SSF equipment

CEBU, Philippines - The Department of Trade and Industry recently turned over almost half a million worth of machines that process value-added agricultural products to the Integrated Community Development Organization in the town of Compostela.

The Cebu-based Southern Partners and Fair Trade Center, Inc. has partnered with DTI to tap marginalized farmers’ organizations to process value-added agricultural products.

The Integrated Community Development Organization in Compostela town is the recent marginalized group that has received shared service facilities from the DTI for the production of desiccated coconut and coconut charcoal briquettes which are supplied to SPFTC.

SPFTC operations manager Rolando Labradores said many potential farmers in Cebu municipalities can actually produce value-added agricultural products with the help of technologies and capacity-building training.

Educating them on how to sustain efficient production and how to manage resources is important to improve their livelihood, he said in an interview.

"They have to utilize the equipment in full capacity kay makatabang man gyod ni sa ilang livelihood ug production," he said.

He noted that in order to achieve inclusive growth, there is a need to build more village processing areas where ordinary farmers work for shared production; thus, helping the local industry grow.

ICDO is a local farmers' group that produces fresh vegetables, mangoes and coconuts.

Cebu is not a top coconut producing province. However, Labradores said the coconut industry in Cebu can meet the current demand of coconut-based products such as virgin coconut oil, desiccated coconut and coconut charcoal.

These goods are supplied to fair trade centers in Italy, Canada and Japan, he said, noting that the demand from foreign markets of these agri-based products is very high.

Fair trading implies that fair prices are paid to producers in developing countries to promote equity in international trade.

For her part, Regional Director Asteria Caberte of DTI-7 explained the SSF really aims to help the small businesses of farmers, fishermen and other producers.

The director urged farmer beneficiaries to respond well to the opportunity of having a technology that would not only improve their production but also augment their income and the farming business in general. (FREEMAN)