The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) MIMAROPA has launched its own marketing inter-agency platform Katuwang sa Market (KaSaMa) for agrarian reform beneficiaries in the provinces composing Region IV-B or MIMAROPA.
According to DAR Regional Director Marvin Bernal, the marketing project aims to uplift a bigger value in the market chain for farmer beneficiaries who are also members of licensed regional cooperatives by directly linking them with shareholders and potential product buyers.
“There was an increase in post-harvest losses on rice, vegetables, and other major crops of about 10-30 percent. Most of the farmers have low access to timely and accurate information on market demands. In effect, depending on the need of the market, the supply side was not being maximized,” Bernal said in a statement published in the DAR website.
Adding up, he said that the project was strategized during the peak of the pandemic outbreak, when restrictions on local transport of agricultural commodities had been a major concern which affected the production rate of local farmers.
DAR expects that with KaSaMa, the farmers in the region would get an increased income through direct market, partner cooperatives, and the right pricing for their agricultural products.
DAR targets to reach 58 agrarian cooperatives composed of more than 6,000 members all throughout MIMAROPA region through the project. Currently, according to data published by the agency, there are a total of 288 agrarian cooperatives, and only 56 have direct arrangements with institutional buyers.
“With these data, efforts in market accessibility are our utmost priority to make the farmers’ lives better,” Bernal said.
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