Farmers in Davao region will soon have a hub where they can sell their agricultural produce directly to consumers at a farmer-friendly price without intermediaries involved in the market chain.

This after the launching of the “PalitANI Sa Onse, A Rice Farmers Agricultural Products Expo” by the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) XI during its celebration of Irrigators Association (IA) Day on August 24 in Davao City.

Derived from two Cebuano words: “Palit,” which means to buy, and “Ani,” which means harvest. Together, “PalitAni” means buying the farm harvest or agricultural produce of the local rice farmers.

Inspired by a “Tabu/Tabu-an,” a local version of “market day” set on a specific day weekly where merchants and traders from different areas gather in one location, usually in business centers of a municipality or barangay, to sell their products, making it convenient for locals to buy what they need.

She commended the agency for initiating the project saying, “This kind of initiative is good because we can earn much (compared to when there are intermediaries)… It’s nice because the public, particularly the farmers, are involved.”

She added that aside from farmers, consumers can also benefit from this project, noting that “people can afford to purchase the products” as the prices are set economically.

She said that the price of her rice of an excellent variety displayed in the booth and to be displayed in "PalitAni" in Davao del Norte is only around P50 per kilogram, unlike in the local markets whose prices are around P53 to P57 per kilogram.

ay sila ana diha nga produce (Because usually the farmer has a lot of produce that only get damaged because she/he does not have access to the market. Then there are many potential buyers as well who want to buy, but the problem is they do not know that farmers have that product).”

As being practiced in the province, Baraguya said that they will continue building and strengthening their linkages between their local farmers to their potential buyers or consumers.

However, for now, he said that their main hub in Davao de Oro is in their provincial Irrigation Management Office (IMO), serving NIA personnel and nearby offices.

where they can display their products on their preferred day of the week.  Also, to reach out to more potential buyers, they will be taping local government units (LGUs) and other agencies.

“At the start ang mga marketplaces, ang mga opisina pa sa NIA kay target, for now, NIA employees and nearby offices… (but) atong target nga ma-partner ang local government units and other interested party nga motabang (the marketplaces will be the NIA offices in the provinces because our target market, for now, is NIA employees and nearby offices... we target to partner with local government units and other interested parties to assist us), for the general public to have access to the market,” he explained.

Maceda emphasized that the program is exclusive to the members of the Irrigators Association (IA) in the region, primarily Class C farmers or those small-scale farmers whose main source of income is only farming.

On the other hand, regarding putting up a “Tabu/Tabua-an” or local marketplace, Maceda said, “depende ni sa mag-apply nga Irrigators Association, kung asa ang lugar nga daghang mag-apply didtu pod i-establish ang tabu (this depends on the Irrigators Association applicants, if there are various applicants in a certain area, that areas will be the place where tabu (marketplace) will be established).”

Maceda also disclosed that a major part of the project is building linkages, especially long-term ones, between farmers and potential buyers like restaurants, but he said it depends on the capacity of the farmers to sustain the production of certain agricultural products.

He added that this is one way of the agency to support rice farmers in the region to generate additional income and combat El Nino, saying “nga naa pay other crops na matanom nga dili na kinahanglan og daghang tubig (that there are other crops that can be planted that do not need much water).”

Apostol assured local farmers that the agency would assist them in identifying a “bagsakan” in their localities to ensure that they have a place where they can display and sell their products.

He added that by patronizing local products, farmers would be inspired to plant more and develop their farmlands.

“The more man gud nato ma-encourage ang atong mga farmers nato nga mananom kung kita pod nga mga buyers atoa pong tabangan sila nga mahalin ang ilahang produkto (If we buyers patronize their products, the more our farmers will be encouraged to plant),” he explained. (ASO/PIA-XI)