COMMITTEE on Agriculture head Davao City Councilor Ralph Abella will craft an ordinance for the Davao Food Terminal Complex (DFTC) to become the only "bagsakan" market of farmers’ products in the city.
In order to properly manage the operations in the P1.086 billion food complex located in Toril district, an executive-legislative agenda meeting included the need to pass the said ordinance.
“[This will] prohibit farmers to bring volume of their products in Bankerohan Public Market or any other place in the city except the Bagsakan in DFTC in Toril. The auction will have to take place there,” Abella said in vernacular during a phone interview Tuesday, August 13, 2019.
Abella said while there are advantages and benefits if this ordinance will be pushed, there are still other considerations that need to be studied like farmers from the opposite area may have a hard time in terms of transporting products to Toril.
With this consideration, he said he might be suggesting for the city or the DFTC to provide a transport truck for agricultural products.
“There was no truck at the moment, so I want to suggest that the city or the DFTC should provide a truck so that there will be no need for farmers to transport their products as it will probably cost them a lot,” Abella said.
Working on with the proposed ordinance, Abella said there is a need to evaluate capacity of farmers and monitor their production volume to avoid surplus and shortage of agricultural supplies.
Abella said they are targeting to polish the proposed ordinance before the year ends and hopefully provide a win-win situation to farmers and traders in the city.
City Agriculturists Office head Leo Brian Leuterio said in a text message to SunStar Davao that they are helping out with the proposed ordinance by providing farmers list, traders lists, among others.