‘Agriboost’hikes vegetable production
BUTUAN’S Agriboost program increased vegetable production in the city and helped farmers hike their incomes.
Pierre Anthony D. Joven, head of the Butuan City Agriculture and Veterinary Department (CAVD), said that in the past, farmers in the city were demotivated and called for reforms as the city’s agri-ecosystem was dominated by traders, resulting in low vegetable production.
“Almost half of the land area in the city is conducive to farming. However, we were 18 percent SELF-SUFfiCIENT ON LOCAL VEGETABLE production,” he said.
“Out of 100 kilograms of vegetables that we ate, only 18 kilos came from local production. The rest of the 72 kilos were sourced out from outside locations, such as Northern Mindanao, Davao, and other areas,” Joven said.
Farmers in the city opted to plant rice instead of vegetables because vendors were buying their products at very low prices, making it hard for them to make profits. Vendors, on the other hand, claimed that the city did not have a stable local market, forcing them to buy produce at a lower price.
“AgriBoost program served as a beacon of hope to address the dilemma of the farmers,” Joven said.
AgriBoost, the city’s banner program on agriculture, is an agriecosystem innovation that boosts local farmers’ competitiveness, and catalyzes market forces for a sustainable, food-secure, and vibrant community.
With the program, farmers are transformed to become contract growers, making their production demand driven as they participate actively in the four components of the program, namely:
AgriBloom - allows farmers to enroll in a capacity training program at the farmers’ field school to learn new and resilient farming technologies. The CAVD, on the other hand, assesses the implementation of the agricultural theories through its weekly visits to the farmlands of the participating farmers, including support for the adoption of smart technology and provision of inputs. The aim is to also make farmers climate resilient.
AgriMart - capacitates farmers and market channels, comprising of market vendors, restaurants, supermarkets, and stores, with entrepreneurial mind-setting and training on financial literacy, and proper product handling for food safety, among others.
AgriHub - the brain of the project that orchestrates the supply and demand for vegetables for the farmers and vendors. It provides feasible planting time, what to plant and its quantity, socialized wholesale price and delivery schedule, contract of agreement between the farmer and market channels, among others, that are made available through the AgriMart mobile application.
AgriBoost Comms - engages the community to help increase vegetable demand in households and
Started in 2023
The dry run of AgriBoost started in 2023 and was participated in by 35 farmers and 24 market channels.
“In a controlled implementation and environment, our first delivery happened in March 2023 with 1,000 kilos of vegetables only. By December 2023, we ended the year with a delivery of 9,400 kilos of vegetables weekly from our local farmers,” Joven said.
“What is more inspiring is to see our farmers now earning more, this time, with income increasing from 8 to 20 percent weekly. Previously, our farmers would only earn P12,000, but with AgriBoost, our farmers are now earning a minimum of P25,000 weekly,” he added.
One good example is a farmer in Barangay Anticala who expanded his VEGETABLE PLANTATION FROM 1 4 HECTARE to 2 hectares as his higher income allowed him to buy additional land.
“With positive performance and results, the AgriBoost community has also expanded the participants in the program. Today, AgriBoost has 50 vegetable farmers and 30 market channels. For 2024, we will continue with the dry-run implementation with incremental expansion. Hopefully, by next year, we will do the full program implementation, so no farmer will be left behind,” Joven added.
Also, under the leadership of Mayor Ronnie Vicente Lagnada, AgriBoost started as Butuan’s winning entry to the Bloomberg Philanthropies 2021 Global Mayors Challenge, besting over 600 applicants from around the world, including the more than 100 cities and municipalities that submitted their applications from the Philippines.
Butuan became the first Philippine city to be awarded the grand prize of $1 million for its AgriBoost initiative, in addition to the three-year technical support and coaching to share the initiative with other cities around the globe.