By Danilo P. Padua, PhD
It was reputed to approximate the strength of Yolanda, the strongest typhoon that ever made a landfall a few years ago. That’s the flying typhoon named Lawin, that destroyed so much infrastructure and agricultural crops in Northern Luzon, especially in the provinces of Isabela, Cagayan, Kalinga and Ilocos Norte.
Many of the vegetable gardens in Benguet were affected resulting increased vegetable prices in Metro Manila. What made matters worse is that roads to and from the gardens became almost impassable due to landslides. Can you imagine just two pieces of extra large potato tubers fetching 47 pesos just a few days after the onslaught of Lawin? Add to that, a jacked up price of P160.00/kg of tomato, or a PhP120.00/kg of cabbage, as well as those of many other vegetables then you have a situation where an average income earner has her/his back on a weak wall. The prices quoted here were according to the actual cost paid by some housewives in Manila.
That’s a graphic example of how calamities like typhoons affect the supply of farm products. Obviously, something has to be done to somehow minimize the effect of such typhoons in relation to pricing. The establishment of a good storage facility in Benguet for example, to assure a continuous, non-disruptive supply of vegetables and even fruits should be a move towards the right direction.
Two columns or so back, I wrote about the need to revive Benguet’s cold storage. I am reiterating the same idea not just to maintain freshness of vegetables but now also to help stabilize fresh vegetable supply in the market.
The BAPTC should be harnessed for this. But first, it should be made to operate fully as early as possible. After an unforced lull of activity for some months, the trading center is poised now to spring back into activity, hopefully with a lot of frenzy. This is after Dr. Violeta Salda, of the Benguet Vegetable Processing Center was appointed as its director (is it in interim capacity?). I have not asked the director yet about her plans but am sure she is cooking something. Dr. Feliciano Calora, the BSU president, must have given her general marching orders to make the Center vibrant and operational at a satisfactory level. It would be nice to know what those are.
I would like to repeat here some of what I wrote about BAPTC last year.
“The various APTCs are designed for trading of fruits and vegetables, grains, tobacco, and aquatic products. That means that each center is a specialized one and is strategically located. Their noble task is really to allow farmers to earn more and consumers to spend less on a certain farm commodity. By this thought, APTCs are expected to operate and gradually evolve into what they are targeted to be…
I don’t know how the other APTCs are operated but so far, we haven’t heard of any center malfunctioning. Anyway, it’s time for BAPTC to show that it will be beneficial to all stakeholders, especially to farmers. In terms of area, the center is relatively small but in terms of initial capital investment, it is certainly the biggest. This in itself, is a challenge to make it deliver big time. It should therefore function like a well-oiled machine.
Unlike the others, the BAPTC is unique in that, it involves a higher educational institution, BSU. The center is therefore expected to also shore up the financial status of the university in boosting its programs, improving the delivery of its services, and enhancing its academic stature not only nationally but also internationally.”
“…the center should be made to work efficiently. The interim management team being formed by the steering committee of the center should be apt to task. It should be made to work without much administrative intervention, unless it is going out of bounds. “
“With the Center’s size and varied business concerns, a technocratic management team may not be responsive in the long run. An experienced, professional management company with a solid integrity should later be considered. This could better ensure the protection of all stakeholders’ interests.
I asked the opinion of a Belgian agricultural economics expert, Prof. Dr. Jacques Viaene (who served as consultant/advisor to both BSU and SLU), on how the BAPTC should operate. He pointed to the operation of RUNGIS Trading Center in the outskirts of Paris, France. The center, according to him, is run by a private professional management company but it is owned by the French government. The center is capitalized based on shares: The French state owns about 33%, Paris city maintains 13%, a private company (33%), tenants of the center (10%) and others (10%).
According to Viaene, the energy requirement of the center is generated from within through waste recycling. What is also commendable is the presence of strong but healthy competition among farmers. Property checkouts is routinely done that contributed to the smooth sailing of the center. Due to the efficiency of the company, the center is now the largest wholesale food market in the world. As a result, it created so much jobs.”**
