“The cooperation and unity of the community and management team led us to win the award,” said Bernard G. Buned, the manager of the Lubon Barangay Food Terminal (BFT) in Tadian, Mtn. Province as they grabbed the prestigious Gawad Saka award as Outstanding LGU-Managed Barangay Food Terminal this year.
He also gave thanks to the Department of Agriculture – Cordillera and the LGU of Tadian for their ceaseless support and the opportunity to make their community better.
The reason why the Lubon BFT won is “dahil sa mahusay na pamamahala ng isang sentrong pamilihan sa barangay na nagtitinda ng malinis, ligtas at mataas na uri ng produkto; masikap na paghikayat sa mga residente ng pamayanan at mga karatig lugar na magtanim ng gulay at mag-alaga ng hayop, hindi lamang para sa pansariling-konsumo, kundi bilang sustanableng pinagmumulan ng karagdagang kita,” said President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, “At higit sa lahat, dahil sa pakikiisa sa mga programa ng pamahalaan na naglalayong makapaghatid ng sapat, masustansya, ligtas at abot-kayang pagkain para sa bawat pamilyang Pilipino.”
Lubon BFT won P350,000, a trophy and a certificate. Buned said that they will use the cash as their capital to have more daily goods such as rice, help students through scholarships, and build a satellite BFT to cater better to the community.
Lubon was one of the grantees of the BFT project by the Department of Agriculture. The Barangay Lubon Food Terminal was launched on June 6, 2010. Six years from its launching, the Lubon BFT stood to be one of the most successful projects of the barangay. It caters to around 785 households with food and non-food products.
Aside from a selling food and non-food commodities, through the years they were able to expand their services to food catering, enhancement of crop and livestock production systems and attendance in trade fairs and exhibits. Some of the highlights of the BFT is that it does not sell junk foods and all its vegetables are organically produced.
The food terminal also acquired machines for food processing, thus, they sell their own produced and processed meat and soybeans.
The Gawad Saka is the most prestigious award given by the Department of Agriculture for farmers and fisherfolk for their exemplary contributions to the advancement of agriculture and fishery sectors.**Jenny M. Dayao
