THE CITY Agriculturist’s Office urged squash farmers to ask for assistance any time they need help in improving their production and income.
City agriculturist Edgardo Haspe reminded farmers to raise their concerns to their respective districts so these could be addressed by their office.
“(Naa ta’y) division sa opisina nga in-charge ana silay mangitag market para ana (We have an office division dedicated to look for buyers),” Haspe said.
Haspe said their office also has a vehicle that can pick up the farmers’ harvest and deliver them to Davao Food Terminal Complex to fetch a higher price. He said one of the factors in why buyers offer lower prices is the fuel cost of going up the mountains to buy the harvest.
“Ipahibalo sa amoa kay amo gyud ng tabangan isa sa tabang namo ana kuhaon gyud namo didto, labi na kung masulod og sakyanan kuhaon namo na didto aron wa nay gasto haul (We can pick up the produce, especially those areas that can be accessed by vehicle, to avoid incurring hauling costs),” Haspe said.
So far, he said the office was able to collect produce from Marilog and Paquibato districts and sell them at the DFTC.
“Mo-contact ta og buyer kay naa may naga anhi dinhi nga mga byahero moadtog Cagayan ug laing lugar, mokuha og kalabasa diris Davao City (We would contact buyers, some of whom come to the city to buy squash and sell it to Cagayan and other places),” Haspe said.
CAO is working on clustering the farmers to better assist them in planting and marketing. The program was piloted in the Marilog District.
To recall, a video of a squash farmer went viral on Facebook last July after expressing his disappointment over the P3 per kilogram price, given the expensive fertilizers used and labor costs.
