Farmers as agri-entrepreneurs

Value added agri-products seen as next step in agri sector development

Ian Ocampo Flora
Reporter

San Luis—It seems the solution to make farmers earn more nowadays is that they should stop being just
farmers and start being agriculture entrepreneurs by exploring value-added solutions to farm products.

This was the resounding message of the 3rd Agribusiness Support for Promotion and Investment in
Regional Expositions (Aspire) at Robinsons Starmills in the City of San Fernando.

And the next stage of evolution in the agricultural field that farmers should be willing to embrace is
agriculture entrepreneurship according to Department of Agriculture (DA) assistant secretary for Agri-
business Andrew Villacorta.

To help farmers with the necessary know-how, network and resources to become businessmen
themselves, the DA had been organizing the Aspire program for farmers to help them benchmark.
Aspire is a partnership project of the DA, Department of Trade and Industry and the Philippine Chamber
of Commerce and Industry (PCCI).

Project ASPIRE includes production support, enterprise development and industry support, investment
promotion and market promotion and development as its four driving components. ASPIRE was
designed by the Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Service (AMAS).

The components of the programs are: production support, enterprise development and industry
support, agribusiness investments and promotions, and market promotion and development.

Villacorta said Aspire aims to develop the capacity of local farmers and fisherfolk, as well as MSMEs to
optimize market opportunities, promotion and advocacy of investment opportunities to encourage
agribusiness investments, and build strong partnerships and convergence with other government and
private sector industry groups.

Government agencies like the DA and the Department of Trade and Industry have been pushing for
value adding measures on local farm products. Initiatives on value-added products have covered
coconut, copra, banana, mango and even rice to name a few.

Villacorta said that “value-added” means that products are processed and produced with better quality.

Instead of just producing fruits, farmers and farm cooperatives can start producing candies and dried
fruits.

Coconut farmers can explore the potential of the coco coir industry has a huge market for coconut
farmers since these coconut fibers are used as geo-nets, which help prevent landslides. Coconut water
too is an emerging product with a growing demand in the export market. The DA added that farmers
can venture into the food industry for coconuts like creating coconut oils.
Value adding also extends to fisheries. In fact, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has
introduced a value-added fish processing technology just this March to local fisher folks in the country.
The technology shows growers how to process dried and marinated tilapia products.

The DOST said that farmers can now start “selling processed tilapia products, with their extended shelf-
life, rather than just fresh fish.”

The Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) has also been doing research to help in value adding
measures for rice. PhilRice’s 2016 consumer-driver market study had developed the Brown Rice Cracker-
Ice Cream Sandwich (BRICS) made from fresh buffalo’s milk sandwiched in crackers made from brown
rice flour.

Despite of all the available technology and research on value added products, there are still few farmers
who have adapted value-added measures on their farm products.

Villacorta admits that value adding technology and access to trainings and similar programs require
government support and funding. He added that while government has enough programs for trainings
as well as provide adequate access to loans, farmers are not yet brave enough to pursue agri-business
ventures.

“We need to encourage more farmers. Programs and access to funding are there but we have few
takers,” Villacorta said, adding that farm cooperatives and farmers must step up their game to be able to
make it big in the agri-business sector.