The Value Chain Analysis (VCA) is one of the approaches used by the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) to identify the interventions in a commodity’s industry. Each Regional Project Coordination Office (RPCO) with its Provincial Project Management and Implementation Units (PPMIUs) prioritized commodities to be supported by the PRDP during the pre-implementation stage of the Project. Recently, the tomato, mung bean and bangus are added as priority commodities of Region I.

After interviewing farmers of tomato, mung bean and bangus in the Ilocos Region last October 2015, VCA Consultants Marian Boquiren and Ivan Idrovo presented the draft of the VCA reports to tomato and mungbean famers in a Stakeholders Consultation in La Union Country Resort on 7 April 2016.

During the consultation meeting for the tomato and mungbean VCAs, the farmers sought to verify the buying price of tomatoes by the processors (i.e. National Food Corporation), which was pegged at P2.60 per kilogram. They also requested to include the construction of bagsakan centers per municipality to encourage farmers to plant tomatoes.

Ms. Boquiren responded that the buying price of tomatoes by processors is justified. Tomato farmers receive input supply subsidy and planting materials from the processors. Also, other processors in the country buy tomatoes at the same price.

With regard to the construction of bagsakan centers, RPCO 1 Deputy Project Director and RTD for Operations Paz L. Mones replied that sometimes “interest, values, and attitude of producers is the bottom line of problems.” She mentioned that the Department of Agriculture already constructed bagsakan centers through the Food Terminal Project (FTP). After the turn-over to the farmers, however, the same became un-operational because of mismanagement and lack of commitment from the farmers.

The tomato VCA report did not identify Farm to Market Roads as intervention.

Meanwhile, for the mungbean commodity, Dr. Mones and Consultant Boquiren challenged the farmers to redeem the top spot for producing mungbean. Ilocos Region used to be the top producer of mungbean in the country, but its production mainly reduced due to crop shifting.

Dr. Mones also encouraged farmers to organize groups under the munbean commodity to propose enterprises under the PRDP. According to her, the organization of mungbean farmers will help stabilize the commodity’s production in the Region.

The VCA reports will be revised based on the Stakeholder Consultation meetings and will be submitted to the National Project Coordination Office (NPCO) for the issuance of a No Objection Letter (NOL). While waiting, the PPMIUs may start updating their respective Provincial Commodity Investment Plans (PCIPs) to include the tomato, mungbean and bangus commodities. (Ilocos InfoACE)