TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, August 15 (PIA) -- Speaking during the recent Capitol Reports attended by Assistant Provincial Agriculturist Latty Pamugas and Provincial Veterinarian Stella Marie Lapiz, Department of Agriculture (DA) Assistant Secretary Salvador Diputado proposed a buy-back scheme by local government units (LGUs) to address the issue of price control especially in crops and fisheries.

The DA, Office of the Provincial Agriculture (OPA), and the Office of the Provincial Veterinarian (OPV) have laid down their current initiatives to address the lofty prices of Bohol farm-based and marine based commodities.

Buy-back-scheme means the government buys all the catch or harvest and facilitates its sale with minimal profit.

Past investigations on the steep price of fish and marine products in Bohol revealed that without reliable cold storage facilities, fishermen would rather sell their catch to Cebu, spending more on fuel as Cebu markets buy in bulk.

With the buy-back-scheme, Diputado encouraged the towns where resources are taken and sold elsewhere, to rather buy the catch to have control over their resources.

“We have talked with Mayors Rene Borenaga of Bien Unido and Janet Garcia of Talibon to explore the possibility of the buy-back scheme,” Diputado said.

This scheme, he said, eliminates middlemen and traders who put in their cut on top of each sale, compounding the sales price.

He said when the traded fish in Bohol often pass through many hands, it also means its price increases, some even recording a hundred pesos more than the original price when bought.

By this, LGUs can add a bit to the buying price, but it still comes out cheaper, he stressed.

As for LGUs, once they buy the catch, they can put it in a storage facility after blast-freezing to properly preserve the freshness, he added.

But without the cold storage facility, there are creative ways to dispose of the products.

For example, in Jagna under Mayor Joseph Rañola, the LGU buys farm products and then puts them on credit to local employees.

This way, farmers do not lose and the LGU is assured of the pay with a little profit, reported Jagna Information Officer Bern Condor.

“If we allow the farmers to do the marketing, transporting it adds up to the cost, and when it reaches the market, there is a huge possibility that the bulk delivery floods the supply chain, pulling the prices down,” he added.

Diputado also suggested fish farming, but includes offshore and inland fish farming, to keep up with the demand which could pull prices down. (RAHC/PIA7 Bohol)