MARKET MATCH. Farmers associations in Dingras, Ilocos Norte receive a cash amount of PHP3.8 million from selling 61 tons of mungbean in a day on May 24, 2021. Through DA's market-matching activity, small farmers get a better chance to negotiate for a better price for their produce. (Photo courtesy of Regional Agriculture and Fisheries Information Section Ilocos Region)
LAOAG CITY – At least three farmers associations in Dingras, Ilocos Norte are making their first millions through their sales of mungbean or monggo which is currently in demand in the market.
Through the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) market matching activity, Mark Ariel Agresor, the project leader of the mungbean production in Ilocos Norte, said in an interview on Monday that he is excited about the future of farmers in the province who will soon become certified seed growers of mungbean to supply quality planting materials to fellow farmers across the country.
During the last harvest season, around 100 mungbean farmers in Barangays Barong and Lanas were able to harvest around 61 tons of mungbean with a gross sale of PHP3.8 million.
The amount was personally handed to them in cash by the management of Nutridense Food Manufacturing Corporation which entered into a three-year memorandum of agreement with three farmers associations namely: CSDCS (Casalaysayan, Segundo, Dancel, Camiring and Soriano) Farmers Association Inc., Lanas Timpuyog Farmers Association Inc. and the United Barong Farmers Association.
Pegged at PHP64 per kilo, farmers earned additional PHP9 a kilo from Nutridense compared to the prevailing market price of PHP55 per kilo from other traders.
According to Agresor, the success of the mungbean farmers in Dingras town is a product of public-private partnership and collaboration of various stakeholders to alleviate poverty as promised by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte in his previous state of the nation addresses.
It is also a part of the continuing research for the development program of the DA to assist rice-based farming communities to increase their income through the planting of value-adding commodities, aside from rice.
With a favorable climate for mungbean production in Dingras town, farmers here are able to grow their income by harvesting rice during the first and second cropping seasons and mungbean on the third cropping season annually.
In 2019, Agresor said they met with local farmers in the area who are planting rice and mungbean in well-irrigated farmlands.
Through a series of farmers consultations under the so-called Participatory Rural Appraisal and Participatory Adaptive Research, Agresor said they were able to identify their problems and suggested new ways to resolve them.
They found out that farmers then were using excessive commercial fertilizers and chemical pesticides which increased their production costs.
“Initially, our farmers were hesitant but as we allow them to get involved in refining the suited technology for them, we were able to get their support -- from land preparation, production up to marketing their produce,” he said, adding it fills his heart with gladness to work with hardworking and dedicated farmers.
For his part, Ferdinand Obrero, secretary of the CSDCS Farmers Association, expressed gratitude to the DA, the provincial government of Ilocos Norte and the municipal government of Dingras for the opportunity given to their association to increase their income especially in the assurance of market for their mungbean which has been a major concern of the farmers even in the previous years.
By linking them directly to manufacturers, farmers get a better chance to sell their produce at a higher price rather than to walk-in traders who dictate the price of their commodity.
“Buong puso kaming nagpapasalamat sa buong pamunuan ng DA, sa Provincial at Municipal government ng Dingras at probinsiya ng Ilocos Norte, sa patuloy na paggabay sa amin sa aming pagtatanim ng munggo. Tunay na malaking tulong sa amin na madagdagan ang aming kita na lubos na kailangan ng mga kagaya naming maliliit na mga magsasaka lalong lalo na ngayong panahon ng pandemya (Our heartfelt thanks to DA, provincial and municipal governments for their continuing support and assistance to us in planting monggo)," Obrero said.
"This is a big help to us small farmers to increase our income particularly in this time of pandemic,” he added.
In Ilocos Norte, farmers here may not be as poor as some may think. With various government intervention programs and projects where they are directly involved, independent farmers here are learning fast the trade of becoming entrepreneurs and producers themselves.
It’s not only that. Small farms, at least in Ilocos Norte, are consolidating and adopting more advanced technologies to beat the odds in new normal times. (PNA)
