DAVAO CITY –— Abaca farmers cooperative received some P3.8 million worth of farm machinery from the Davao City government, the World Bank, and the Department of Agriculture (DA) to boost their production.
The World Bank, DA, and Davao City government share funding for the Abaca Processing and Marketing Enterprise at 60:20:20 respectively.
The funds spent on the machinery represent the first tranche of the P10 million grant from the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) under the Investments on Enterprise Development (I-REAP).
I-REAP is aimed at strengthening and developing viable agri-fishery based enterprises through efficient value chains of key agricultural and fishery projects on targeted program areas.
On August 20, the 90 members of Tapak Farmers Marketing Cooperative (TFMC) of Barangay Tapak, Paquibato District received the types of machinery which include a tractor with trailer, spindle stripping machines, and weighing scales which will be used for the Abaca Processing and Marketing Enterprise proposed by the TFMC.
In 2013, TFMC started to venture into abaca processing and marketing for the domestic market. Most of its members are using traditional or hand-stripping methods in extracting abaca, which is a laborious and time-consuming process for the farmers.
Seventy-five percent (75%) of the members of said cooperative belongs to the Ata Tribe, the city government-accredited TFMC in 2017.
Tampak is the city’s farthest barangay serving as a boundary for Davao del Norte and North Cotabato. The farmers in the community used to devote their land for corn and upland rice until they discovered the high potential and good quality of Abacca in 2014.
Seventy-five percent of the membership is now composed of 90 farmers, of which 75 percent are members of the Ata tribe.
In 2018, the city identified Tapak as one of the areas for the city’s peace and development project dubbed as Peace 911, which aimed at uplifting the once rebel infested areas like the center of development along with other barangays in Paquibato district.
City Agriculturist Leo Brian Leuterio said that the Abaca Processing and Marketing Enterprise aims to increase abaca fiber production and marketing in the city.
The Abaca Processing and Marketing Enterprise covers 375 hectares of abaca area in sitios Tapak Proper, Butay, Mangani, and Panlawayan as the four production cluster areas of Barangay Tapak.
As it is now, the TFMC buys hand-stripped abaca fiber from the farmer-members.
With the PRDP intervention, the enterprise aims to upgrade and expand the existing business of TFMC through the construction of an Abaca processing building, provision of Abaca processing equipment, and delivery and marketing of Abaca fiber,” Leuterio said.
The Abaca Processing and Marketing Enterprise targets to increase abaca fiber marketing from 36 metric tons to 148.5 metric tons per year. Also, the project would increase the TFMC average income from P225,145.5 to P1,257,253.96.
It is envisioned that during the completion of the project, the cooperative will have four (4) abaca storage and processing facility worth P3,999,797.19; a 6-wheeler delivery truck worth P2,946,810; one (1) tractor for hauling from farm to processing area at P2,256,000; one trailer at P144,000; eight (8) spindle stripping machines at P1,390,080; and four platform weighing scales at P79,200. –Newsline.ph with CIO report
