By Mary Grace Padin
A NON-GOVERNMENTAL organization (NGO) helping promote micro and small-to-medium enterprises said on Monday it has partnered with a Japanese trader to help ginger farmers in Aurora
province market their crop.
The Alalay sa Kaunlaran Inc. (Aski), through its Aski Multipurpose Cooperative (AMPC), said it has collaborated with the Sunnybing International Trading Corp. (SITC)—a Japanese exporter of ginger—to aid farmers in Aurora in the production, processing and marketing of the crop.
AMPC General Manager Jasper Santos said the NGO and the company’s value-chain program in agriculture will provide additional income to the ginger farmers in the area.
Maximino Maslag, a beneficiary from Barangay Kadayacan, Maria Aurora, Aurora, said the value-chain program has aided him produce and market his ginger crops.
“When we are harvesting, we do not have buyers. We sell ginger to the market and anywhere else every week,” Maslag said. He added that he used to wait a year before he can harvest ginger.
Now, however, farmers in the village can sell their harvests in three to four months. This supply will be processed, then supplied to sushi restaurants in Japan.
“I planted about 1,000 Hawaiian ginger seedlings. It’s nearing four months now, so I am just waiting for the instruction from the buyer to harvest my ginger. That’s what I like in this project. There is a sure buyer so the income is guaranteed,” Maslag said.
SITC President Satoshi Tateno said he is also bringing experts to the field to ensure farmers will have the proper skills and technology to grow and process ginger.
“How to succeed in terms of technical development is very important. We have already showed the technology and we will keep on teaching all the farmers. We are also hiring our own technicians to support each farmer in every area,” Tateno said.
He said the company regularly buys ginger from the farmers as it requires a steady supply of the crop. Because of the big market demand in Japan, he said he is looking for more potential ginger farmers in the countryside to augment their income.
Santos expressed confidence that the ginger farmers in the area will be able to meet the demand due to their capacity and experience in farming.
“AMPC’s major role is to ensure the production. We are dealing with SITC with regards to marketing, and we handle the collection and payment of the farmers’ produce on time so that using their income, they can start planting again after their harvest,” he added.
The AMPC said it is planning to expand the value-chain program in other areas to benefit more farmers.
“We’d also like to extend our support for ginger production to other farmers in Casiguran and Maria Aurora, and eventually, to farmers from Carranglan, Nueva Ecija and Nueva Vizcaya because ginger has a big market,” Santos said.
Meanwhile, rice farmers in Aurora also benefit from Aski’s value-chain program, as the AMPC directly buys their harvest to be supplied to rice retailers in Nueva Ecija and nearby provinces.
Janet Supnet, a beneficiary from Barangay North Poblacion, Dipaculao, Aurora, sells about 70 percent of their rice harvests to AMPC. She and her husband said they are earning approximately P280,000 every harvest season.
“Being a farmer for 10 years now, having AMPC as a direct buyer for our produce is beneficial for farmers like us because of an assured market. They also follow the existing buying-market price,” Supnet said.