Thursday, April 17, 2008 Agri drop zone to rise in MisOr By Danilo V. Adorador III
TO INCREASE the profitability of farmers, a bagsakan center for vegetables and livestock products will soon rise in the Misamis Oriental town of Balingasag, agriculture officials said.
The proposed Bagsakan Complex and Livestock Auction Center is also aimed at expanding the access of agricultural products to consumers in the region, said Honey Gladys Valledor, chief of the Agribusiness and Marketing Division of the Department of Agriculture (DA) in Northern Mindanao.
To be built in an area close to the province's eastern farming towns, the bagsakan center will serve as midway drop-off point where vegetable producers and livestock raisers can trade their products directly, Valledor said.
"With this bagsakan area, our farmers are protected against unnecessary trading layers that eat a significant slice on their profits. Even small garden owners can now directly bring their produce to a place where they can sell it a good price," she sad.
Misamis Oriental 2nd district Representative Danilo Lagbas, whose office conceived the plan, said the bagsakan complex will cut the travel cost for farmers, eliminate the middlemen who commonly dictate the price of farm gate products, and ensure that the province has enough food for its constituents.
"Having a one-stop market for farm products is not only good for farmers, it will also ensure food security; it will provide our constituents with affordable and cheaper farm products," Lagbas said during the launching of the project early this week.
At present, Misamis Oriental farmers and even those as far as from the Caraga Region trade their products to Cagayan de Oro.
Lagbas said the bagsakan complex would be complemented with trainings on vegetable and livestock production for families in selected towns, to be handled by DA-Northern Mindanao.
"While we are putting up a bagsakan center, we are also training household members to become farmers so that they can augment their income," he said.
Construction of the three-building bagsakan complex is expected to start in June. It will comprise of a vegetable landing area, a section for livestock products and a cold storage facility.
It will have an initial funding of P20 million, taken from Lagbas's congressional allocations. Counterpart funding will come from the DA and the Office of the President, the lawmaker said.
