The farmers are the starting point of our entire food supply chain. They are very much important in our daily lives. So imagine the world without them—for sure we will have nothing to eat every day.
The farmers are definitely the driving force behind our agriculture development efforts. They are responsible not only for the food we eat but also for the stability of economies, the preservation of ecosystems, and the health of people and communities around the world.
But the question is: Are they getting the enough support that they direly need?
Perhaps, many of us would say yes! Mainly because we, in the DA, are relentlessly providing them various interventions such as quality seeds or seedlings, which are considered the foundation of successful farming. We also provide them fertilizers, agrochemicals, farm tools and equipment, irrigation systems, soil testing kits and services, livestock and poultry feeds, additives, and other biologics.
In short, we try to give every production support that we could think of so our farmers can produce more. But these are seemingly not enough.
Recognizing our farmers as the starting point in our entire food supply chain, they must be assured also in the proper disposition of their abundant or surplus produce. And that is where our agribusiness and marketing services come in.
With the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP), the one taking charge of this main task or responsibility is the I-REAP—also known as the Enterprise Development Component.
I-REAP’s main concern and responsibility is to ensure that farmers’ produce is converted into cash or income so that our food producers can cope with their own socio-economic needs.
Hence, markets are an important part of the economy. They allow a space where government, businesses, and individuals can buy and sell their goods and services. But that’s not all.
They (markets) help determine the pricing of goods and services and inject much-needed liquidity into the economy.
The I-REAP Component aims to increase productivity and value addition and improve access to the markets of enterprise clusters through efficient, cluster-based agricultural and fishery productivity enhancement interventions. The component will fund small- to large-scale climate-resilient and climate-smart pre- and post-harvest, processing, logistics, and distribution facilities. It will also modernize and enhance operations efficiency and resiliency, ensuring quality produce, transport speed, and food safety to meet consumer demands in specific market areas.
Eligible subprojects under the I-REAP Component are, but not limited to, the following: Input Supply/Sourcing facilities (nurseries, seed banks, culture hatcheries, milling plants, breeding centers, fertilizer/composting centers); Production enterprises (crop, livestock, dairy, and fish production); Consolidation facilities (buying, consolidation, and packaging centers for high-value crops with logistics service facilities, hauling trucks, refrigerated vans, etc.); Post-harvest facilities (cold storage facilities, warehouses with drying and post-harvest equipment, silos, etc.);
Processing facilities (rice and corn processing centers, GMP-compliant crop/meat/dairy/fish processing facilities, non-food products processing facilities such as abaca, coco coir, rubber, etc.); and Marketing facilities (trading posts/centers, food terminals with cold or dry storage facilities, pre-processing/processing facilities, logistics facilities, and auction markets).
The implementing proponents of enterprise subproject proposals are the FCA, FCA Cluster, and, of course, the LGUs.
Right now, the new strategy or direction is to encourage all LGUs to submit project proposals and to connect proactively with clients or project proponents.
Technical staff from regular and special projects are advised to plan out, do something, and strategize or prioritize in order to really come up with tangible results. Through this, the agency can ensure and fast-track efficiency in program implementation.
But in the end, it takes two to tango. Meaning, both the implementing agency and target proponents or beneficiaries must work together—because, after all, progress can be achieved if all stakeholders responsibly work for it!
