RESIDENT-farmers of Barangay Colonia Divina, Sagay City, generated total sales of P101,251 from the two-day "1st Marang Festival and More" held at the Provincial Capitol grounds in Bacolod City until Saturday.
During the kick-off activity on Friday, September 16, participating farmers from 15 puroks of the said barangay generated the bigger sales of P62,407. On the second day, they earned an additional of P38, 844.
Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. said Sunday that bringing the festival in Bacolod City is one of the Provincial Government's ways of supporting farmer-producers to market their own products to urban consumers.
Marañon, during the opening activity, said the Province is working on helping marang farmers in terms of value-adding by linking them to various agencies for more skills and product development trainings.
"For the farmer-producers to improve their livelihood, they should make use of the opportunity to make more products from the abundant source of marang fruits," he said.
For the residents' part, Barangay Colonia Divina chairman Johnny Buhayan thanked the Province for the opportunity not only to earn more income, but also to showcase the rich marang production of their upland community.
"Through the help of the provincial government in developing our barangay as an agri-tourism site, we hope to eventually attract more local and even foreign tourists," Buhayan said.
The Marang Festival and More at the Capitol grounds is an offshoot of the same event held in Colonia Divina last September 1.
After the successful hosting of the activity in Bacolod City, the Provincial Government plans to make it as an annual festival, which will cover more marang farmers not only of Colonia Divina but also of other producing-communities in the province.