A processing facility in the northern part of Benguet is being planned to further assist farmers in selling their products.
After the Department of Agriculture allotted P20 million for the construction of a vegetable processing facility at the Benguet State University in La Trinidad, Gov. Melchor Diclas said the he submitted another proposal to the DA for the construction of additional processing facility at the BSU campus in Buguias.
Diclas said the facility would link the two campuses for research purposes.
“If the processing facility at BSU-La Trinidad is successful, it could be expanded to other parts of Benguet such as in Mankayan, Buguias, Kibungan Bakun, and Kabayan, which are near each other,” Diclas said.
The governor added this would also bring the processing facility nearer to these areas as the other municipalities of the province could also make use of the facility to be put up in La Trinidad.
In his recent visit in the Cordillera, Agriculture Sec. William Dar said the agency’s Bureau of Agricultural Research has funded the facility in partnership with BSU.
The processing facility would help in adding value to the produce of farmers in Benguet and nearby provinces and aid them in selling vegetables and fruits.
Dar cited reports of overproduction of vegetables leading to plunge in prices of certain commodities, which led farmers to just dispose their produce than bring these to the trading centers, which costs them more.
Dar said farmers could bring their unsold produce to the processing facility – a complement to the various trading centers – the Benguet Agri-Pinoy Trade Center and the La Trinidad Vegetable Trading Post.
Diclas said he has already talked with the secretary who said he would coordinate with DA-Cordillera about the proposal for the funding of another processing facility.
Meanwhile, Diclas said the current clustering system of the farmers from the 13 towns of the province, and towns of Tinoc, Ifugao and Bauko, Mountain Province helped in the easier marketing of the farmers’ produce.
Under the clustering scheme, the first group is allowed to trade their products on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday while the second group’s schedule is Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. – Ofelia C. Empian
April 19, 2024
