For the province of Apayao, banana is just one of the main products that provides livelihood opportunities to farmers, along with rice, corn, and the seasonal production of coffee, tropical fruit, and vegetables.

In recent years, banana production has been declining due to climate change-related hazards, but the Calaoan Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Multi-Purpose Cooperative (CARB MPC) in Conner, Apayao persisted on uplifting banana by any means.

With the bulk of the province’s banana cardava production coming from the municipality of Conner, which is the top banana producing municipality in Apayao, banana is seen as the perfect opportunity for growth.

And just at the right time, in 2018, CARB MPC Board of Director Chairperson Reinier S. Bilan learned through his engagements with the Office of the Provincial Agriculture Services about the Department of Agriculture – Philippine Rural Development Project (DA-PRDP).

According to Bilan, there were no existing consolidation centers for cardava banana in the province, which relegated farmers to individually sell their produce to trader, retailers, assemblers, wholesalers, agents, and/or processers. This tedious process paved the way for the cooperative to work hard to comply with the required documents for their proposed enterprise.

Despite being in the banana business for years, Bilan and the cooperative had to go through the notions of being a start-up venture. Regardless, the cooperative remained steadfast in increasing the income of its members from traditional crops, and establish a common consolidation center for banana in Conner.

For the CARB MPC, it was now or never, as they pushed forward for the approval of their enterprise subproject on Banana Cardava Production, Consolidation and Marketing with the DA-PRDP.

“Agpayso nga matrabaho ngem at least enjoy ta adu ti naadal mi along the way haan laeng nga maipanggep iti paper works nu di ket pati linkages ken daduma pay nga maipanggep iti pagnegosyo ti saba,” said Bilan.

(It’s certainly a lot of work, but it was enjoyable because we learned a lot along the way, not only in terms of paper works, but also in establishing linkages and other business-related schemes.)

Aside from the construction of a consolidation center, the cooperative received a delivery truck, banana trading supplies and materials, and a trading capital worth PhP150, 400.00 for the purchase of fresh bananas. In total, the CARB MPC received an invest cost of PhP9.67 million shared by the World Bank loan proceeds (60%), the DA (20%) and the PLGU of Apayao (20%), including a 20% equity in kind from the CARB MPC as the Proponent Group (PG) of the enterprise subproject.

“Awan pay ti pandemic idi in-propose mi daytoy, dirediretso ti kalakaran ti saba ket volumes ti orders ti buyers from Pampanga ken Bulacan. Ngem idi nagpandemic, binmagsak ti banana trading. Naisardeng ti export isunga ti kina adon ti nagmula ti saba ditoy Pilipinas, binmagsaken ti presyo,” shared Bilan.

(We proposed this project before the pandemic when banana trading was at its peak, and orders from Pampanga and Bulacan came in large volumes. But the pandemic has affected the banana industry as well, which led to work stoppages, export market closures, and low market price since there are many banana producers in the country.)

Through their enterprise subproject under the DA-PRDP, the CARB MPC now consolidates the banana produce of its members and non-members, sorts according to the Philippine National Standards (PNS), and markets to several local vendors, processors, and reitailers/wholesalers. The CARB MPC started the operations of their enterprise when they received their trading capital in September 2021.

Further, Bilan shared that they experienced difficulties in marketing bananas when they started their operations because he could not contact the traders/agents from before, (pandemic) and some even stopped trading banana because of the current difficulties in the banana business.

Thanks to the local vendors, processors, and wholesalers/retailers, the cooperative is now revolving their trading capital to buy, consolidate, and market the banana produce that are being brought by farmers to the center.

Neil Baluyan, a banana farmer and a member of the CARB MPC, harvests around 500 to 1,000 kilograms of banana per month. He prefers to bring his produce to the cooperative’s consolidation center rather than sell it to private traders because of its proximity, but mostly because he’s being paid instantly.

“Mas napinpintas nu ditoy coop mi nga iyeg ta at least stable ti buying price da ta ada ti capital da. Haan kasla ti private nga isuda pay mangibaga ti presyo. Mas makamura kami pay iti transportation ta as asideg daytoy coop nga pangiyegan mi ken ada pay ti patronage refund nga maawat min to,” said Baluyan.

(It is much better for us to bring our produce here because the buying price is stable and they have a capital, unlike private traders who dictate the price. We do not spend much on transportation because the center is near and we will also receive a patronage refund at the end of the year.)

Another banana farmer and a member of the coop’s BOD, Jose W. Segundo, attested that most banana farmers, member or not, would bring their produce to the consolidation center because it is difficult to look for direct buyers nowadays who will pay them instantly unlike before.

“Kanya-kanya kami nga mangilaklako iti produkto mi nga saba idi ngem narigrigat tadtan nga agbirok ti direct buyers ken nu private ti pangilakoan mi ket baraten da kami pay,” Segundo said.

(We usually sell our banana produce individually but it is now difficult to look for direct buyers and some would even haggle for a lower price.)

The CARB MPC’s eventual growth has led to the additional hiring of staff for the enterprise, and additionally, shoulder the overall operating expenses.
Despite the challenges that the banana industry faces, the CARB MPC still continues to look for market outlets and institutions within and outside the province who will buy their bananas.

“Tuloy-tuloy kami ladta nga agbirok ti pangilakoan mi ta weekly nga ada um-umay nga saba ket haan met nga mabalin nga bumayag ditoy center dagita saba,” Bilan said.
(We are persistently looking for more market outlets because farmers would bring their banana produce to us every week and the bananas cannot be stored here for a long time.)

As the CARB MPC operates their enterprise, they are hopeful that their efforts will soon bring more opportunities not only for the cooperative, but for their members as well, and for the continuous growth of the local cardava banana industry in Apayao that in years, will be ripe for the taking. (Elvy T. Estacio, RPCO-CAR InfoACE Unit)