BY MARCHEL P. ESPINA
The Department of Agriculture in Western Visayas underscored the importance of marketing strategies to help local farmers in selling their produce.
Maria Theresa Solis, chief of Agri-Business and Marketing Assistance Division of DA 6, said, “We must not focus on production alone, we should assist our farmers in marketing and strategic planning. They should know where to sell their products.”
In a recent meeting with agriculture officers, Solis said that DA 6 is bent on food sufficiency and has been pivotal in linking farmer-producers to consumers and markets, as the new wave of marketing strategies emerged amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Solis said that farmers should identify agri-fishery processors, traders, and institutional buyers in their areas and to know their demands.
Farmers should then be organized in order to set a schedule for planting, what commodity to plant and the volume of needed production, she said, adding that this way, they could be ready for market links.
She said that DA Region 6 has constantly helped farmers improve their income by providing them with necessary information on production, programming, and marketing.
Meanwhile, the Kadiwa markets established in the region, including Bacolod City, also helped the farmers amid the pandemic.
As of August 28, the DA 6 said P20.476 million in sales had been generated by the Kadiwa markets.*
