Staff reporter
LAOAG CITY—A pasalubong
center dedicated for the best-selling products in Ilocos Norte will soon be
available anytime at the Juliana market in Balintawak, Quezon City.
Through a public and private
partnership agreement between the Ilocos Norte government and the Juliana
market, fresh produce of Ilocos farmers and entrepreneurs here will be
delivered directly to consumers in Quezon City.
As of the moment, Edison
Natividad, head of the Small and Medium Enterprise Office of the provincial
government said a memorandum of agreement (MOA) between two parties is now
ready for signing.
But even without the MOA,
tons of orders ranging from fresh fruits and vegetables, processed food
products and other goods from the province are being delivered to Quezon City
while other businesspeople are coming to Ilocos Norte to haul their orders.
According to Mr. Natividad,
this is a good development for local producers as they have readily available
market for their products.
A mango farmer like Imelda
Tumaneng of Barangay 2 in Vintar, Ilocos Norte said she is grateful for the
“Producers to Consumers” program of the provincial government where local
farmers and entrepreneurs are given the chance to earn more from their produce
by providing them a direct link with customers outside the province.
“I have been harvesting and
selling mangoes for a long time in the province but it is only now that I was
able to save some extra profit,” Ms. Tumaneng said citing her sweet mangoes are
among the best-sellers at the Juliana market.
Aside from mangoes, watermelon
and other fruits and vegetables from the Ilocos region are in demand in the
metro.
For a better chance to earn
more and sell faster, Ms. Tumaneng said it is best for farmers here to join an
association so they could negotiate a better price for their products with big
time businessmen.
Since last year, the Ilocos
Norte government through governor Ma. Imelda Josefa “Imee” R. Marcos initiated
an exploratory market matching with the local government of Quezon City,
allowing farm producers and SMEs from the province to sell their products at
the Quezon City Hall at least twice a month or every payday.
Due to consistent demand, a
MOA was inked then it was renewed again for another year effective 2018.
According to Mr. Natividad,
they are also planning to conduct market matching in other areas such as in
Tuguegarao City to expand market of Ilocos products.
Comments
Post a Comment