CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, MINDANAO—You may not have known it, but the lettuce you just ate with your burger at KFC today and the consumer pack salad you bought last weekend in Rustan’s may have come from Northern Mindanao’s vegetable farms.
Small landowners and farmers here, who are members of the Northern Mindanao Vegetable Producers Association (Norminveggies), have joined large corporate farms in supplying vegetables to major fast-food chains, restaurants, supermarkets and hotels in Manila, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro and Davao.
Last year, the growth of out-shipment volume generated by vegetable producers in the region topped 53 percent, which translates into a total volume of 1,978 metric tons (MT) compared to 1,290 MT in 2004. In the last quarter of 2003, the aggregate weekly average out-shipment was 17 MT per week. During the same period in 2004, the figure rose to 32 MT and increased to 43 MT last year.
The increase is attributable primarily to the wide adoption of cluster farming, a marketing scheme under which groups of small farmers consolidate their produce to provide the volume required by institutional customers. The cluster scheme was formulated by the Department of Agriculture with assistance from USAID’s Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) Program.
Corporate farms still account for most of the production of the vegetable industry, but small farmers are making significant inroads and gaining momentum in the market and this represents major progress. Another factor contributing to the rapid growth in production volume is Mindanao’s typhoon-free climate, which enables farmers to produce high value crops such as lettuce, broccoli, potato, sweet corn, salad tomato, bell pepper, carrots, and various tropical vegetables throughout the year.
“At some point, demand for vegetables from Mindanao surges because typhoons and undesirable weather conditions hinder Benguet farmers from transporting their produce,” according to Jasmine Agbon, a spokesperson for GEM.
During the past year, the combined sales of small and corporate farms to institutional markets recorded a value of Php129 million. This represents a growth rate of 96 percent, when compared to the Php 66 million generated during 2004.
To sustain and augment this success, vegetable industry representatives will stage the 4th National Vegetable Congress on April 26-28, 2006 in Davao City to promote nationwide acceptance of vegetable cluster farming as a mechanism for creating significant market growth.
Also published in Manila Standard Today, April 5, 2006 & Business World, March 30, 2006
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