TRIBAL communities in Soccsksargen planting ube and camote have forged a marketing agreement with a Bulacan-based organic food manufacturer that would allow them to earn as much as P3.6 million annually, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA).
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said the leaders of the Manobo and B’laan Tribes have entered into a supply agreement with Almay Gaw-See, CEO of Innovative Packaging Industry Corp. (IPIC).
IPIC manufactures fruit crisps using organic ube or purple yam and camote. The product is marketed under the “Oh, So Healthy!” brand.
Citing Gaw-See, Piñol said IPIC requires an initial supply of 10 metric tons (MT) of purple yam and camote monthly for its fruit crisps production. IPIC buys the produce at P35 per kilogram which would mean that the tribal farmers could earn at least P350,000 monthly, according to Piñol.
“The market linkage started when I met Almay Gaw-See during the International Food Expo [Ifex] event last month at the World Trade Center in Manila,” he said in a post in his official Facebook page on June 20.
“During my conversation with her, she confided that one of her problems was where to get her supply of organically grown purple ube and camote,” he added.
Following his conversation with Gaw-See, the agriculture chief said he instructed DA’s Indigenous People’s Office chief Camilo Andi Jr., to reach out to different tribes in Central Mindanao that could supply the manufacturer’s requirement.
“When the availability of the supply was validated, the tribal leaders were asked to meet with Almay Gaw-See in time with my visit to the Tupi, South Cotabato, agriculture station for the distribution of farm machinery and equipment,” he said. “The deal was sealed with
a handshake.”
The country’s camote output in 2016 reached 529,472.03 MT, 1.22 percent lower than the 535,995.53 MT recorded in 2015, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
PSA data showed that the camote output of Soccsksargen, or Central Mindanao, declined by 14.73 percent to 7,907.69 MT in 2017, from the previous year’s 9,273.81 MT. The region accounted for nearly 1.5 percent of the country’s total camote output in 2016.
Philippine purple yam output expanded by 2.67 percent to 14,165.87 MT in 2016, from 13,797.61 MT in 2015. Soccsksargen’s ube output in 2016 declined by 15.71 percent to 246.72 MT, from 292.69 MT recorded in 2015.