It was potato harvest day for the Miarayon Highland Farmers Association and the Bukidnon skies were looking bleak. Though a heavy downpour seemed imminent, the farmers’ spirits were far from being dampened as they filled their crates with potatoes planted in April earlier this year.
After all, this harvest is different from previous cycles. It’s the first one since their involvement in Universal Robina Corporation’s Sustainable Potato Program, an initiative that complements the High Value Crops Development Program (HVCDP) of the Department of Agriculture. Under the program, URC will provide free table potato seeds of the granola variety imported from Prince Edward Island in Canada.
Potato farmers gather their harvest, the first using seeds provided by URC.
A groundbreaking strategic partnership between DA and the private sector, the program will provide the farmers access to quality seeds, training, research and development to help increase their productivity and yield. The program also aligns with the conglomerate-wide transformation of JG Summit Holdings to put sustainability at the core of its business.
The Miarayon farmers were able to harvest around 250,000 metric tons (MT) of table potatoes from more than 5,000 seeds per hectare. If they can sell their produce at the farm gate price of P45 per kilo, a farmer can earn up to P2.2 million per hectare in three months.
Miarayon farmers were able to harvest around 250,000 metric tons of potatoes.
“The support we received from DA and URC gave us access to quality planting materials that we can’t get on our own. This program was really helpful to us,” said Miarayon Highland Farmers Association president Ryan Danio in his native Visayan language.
Danio added that the seeds they previously used produced fewer potatoes and spoiled easily. “Some seed varieties are available to us but since they generate less yield, they cannot provide for our needs. That’s the big difference,” he said.
Broad geographic scope
Aside from the farmers of Miarayon, seven other cooperatives from Bukidnon, Benguet, Mountain Province, and Davao were able to receive potato seeds under the program.
In the Cordillera region, farmers reported harvesting an average of 20 metric tons. This could earn them up to P600,000 if they could sell their produce up to P30 per kilo. “Before, the production cost versus our income would only break even,” Seeds and Fruits Multi-purpose Cooperative general manager Ardan Copas shared. “Since we have new seeds that increased the volume and quality of our yield, the farmers were able to make profits this time.”
In the Cordillera Administrative Region, farmers reported harvesting an average of 20 metric tons. URC Vice President Vicky E. Yap poses with officials and farmers in a Cordillera farm.
In Sitio Balutakay and Barangay Alegre, Bansalan, Davao Del Sur, farmers reported harvesting up to 600 kilograms of potato tubers. While farmers in this region usually harvested half a kilo per plant, this time they were able to harvest up to 2.5 kilograms per plant.
“We are so happy that we became beneficiaries of URC’s generosity since it’s been a long time since we had new table potato seeds. The last time we received table potato seeds was in 2012 from the government, which are no longer producing good harvests since they’re now in generation seven or eight,” Vegetable Industry Council of Southern Mindanao vice president Rogelio Gualberto said.
Inclusive, robust agriculture
By partnering with DA, URC aims to increase farmers’ income and improve their standard of living. While more than 55% of Filipinos depend on agriculture for income, farmers remain the country’s poorest and most vulnerable sector. According to latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, poverty incidence among farmers is at 34%.
“We are privileged to work with the DA in achieving inclusive growth and sustainable development specifically in the acceleration of the local potato farming communities’ full economic, social, and environmental benefit,” said URC President and CEO Irwin C. Lee.
The potato industry is key to a stronger overall agriculture sector. In 2017, the country’s demand for table potatoes reached 380,333 MT. That same year, the country produced only 116,783 MT, a staggering 69% short of the country’s potato demand.
Seeds of the granola variety, imported from Prince Edward Island in Canada, create a more bountiful harvest. The potatoes also do not spoil as easily as other varieties.
According to Joan D. Bacbac, the Cordillera region’s HVCDP Regional Focal Person, URC’s program helps the government provide quality seeds, which tend to be in short supply or inaccessible to farmers.
“The government provides seeds but these are not enough, so we have to support these by importing seeds. Hopefully, farmers will be able to produce their own seeds with the help of this program,” she said. To implement the program, the proponents identified the farmers associations who will be the target beneficiaries.
DA Region XI HVCDP coordinator Melani Provido added that programs such as this multi-sectoral potato program are crucial to boosting agriculture in Mindanao. According to a World Bank report, a strong agricultural sector in Mindanao is key to reducing poverty nationwide.
“Programs such as this tap Mindanao’s potential for agricultural development. By incorporating a science-based and market-oriented approach in agriculture development programs, we can sustain and improve the livelihood of farmers nationwide,” Provido said.
Since one of the program’s long-term objectives is to help farmers produce their own seeds, the DA will continuously provide training to farmers so they become more self-reliant in producing a steady supply of seeds in the long run.
“We’re eventually teaching the farmers how to create their own seed bank, and make the seeds available to other farmers who want to buy seeds,” said Audy Maagad, DA Region X Field Operations Division officer in charge.
Leaders of farmer associations are also ensuring that their fellow growers know how to take care of the seeds. “We’ll see to it that they know what to do and how to take good care of the seeds. We don’t want to waste the chance given by the government to the people in Barangay Kapatagan,” said Davao-based Highland Farmers Service Cooperative president Felipe Rosemas.
Fostering sustainability
Following the success of the first harvest, the program can become a replicable model of increasing farmers’ productivity and integrating them in the value chain of larger enterprises.
“Sustainability goes beyond the need to show our stakeholders that we’re in the business of doing good, it’s now an essential component to our continuity and growth as a business. For us at URC, the journey to become a sustainable enterprise recognizes the role of farmers in our value chain and in fostering inclusive growth for the rest of the country,” said URC chief Irwin C. Lee.
With programs such as these, Filipinos in the grassroots communities are truly able to reap what they sow—not just more profitable and robust produce but a more stable livelihood season after season.
