LA TRINIDAD, Benguet -- An empowerment of farmers is being sought in the set up of the Benguet Agri Pinoy Trading Center (BAPTC).
Department of Agriculture regional director Lorenzo Caranguian said once farmers enjoy the privileges of the BAPTC, they can put up their own capital.
Caranguian said the empowerment of farmers to be able to improve their way of living and to halt the dependence to middlemen and disposers is one of the aims of the setup of the BAPTC.
The DA said the dependence to disposers will be lessened as programs for farmers on finances as well as personal loans will be facilitated once they become active in the BAPTC.
DA assistant regional director Danilo Daguio said farmers are in favor of the BAPTC and cited specifically the group of disposers acting as middlemen to be up in arms in protest because of an eventual decrease in their income.
The DA submitted a manifesto of support from 89 BAPTC accredited farmers organizations representing 20,538 individuals who are in favor of the facility’s opening.
Old trading post stall owners secured a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) from local courts, giving the trading post an extra 20 days more to operate, defying the order of closure issued by Mayor Edna Tabanda.
The hearing for the case is set on March 7, Monday.
The DA said a price watch for farmers, traders and buyers will be viewed publicly when the BAPTC opens leveling off pricing of produce as well as chances for profit.
The BAPTC will accommodate all traders who want to do business and not prefer those with a 1,000 kilogram produce load and will accept disposers into the BAPTC provided they go through an accreditation process which is free of charge.
Trading fees is now charged at 25 centavos from the initial P1 per kilogram set upon discussion with stakeholders which will go to the maintenance and upkeep of the facility.
Incentives and rebates to be derived from trading in the BAPTC which will give back to traders their trading fee citing a 450 ton quota is reached a month, the corresponding trading fee will be trimmed to 15 centavos, while if there are 300 to 400 ton of produce brought in, trading fees will be slashed to 20 centavos.
The BAPTC will give back the trading fees in cash as an incentive to trader and will be determined when volume of produce brought in increases.