BAGUIO CITY. The first ever Farm and Fisheries Clustering and Consolidation (F2C2) summit for northern and central Luzon pushed through on June 14 to 16, 2022 at the Hotel Supreme in Baguio City. F2C2, also known Bayanihan Agri-Clusters, is the first of the 18 strategies under the One DA Reform Agenda aiming to achieve a modernized and competitive Philippine agriculture sector. This summit, with the theme “F2C2 A Strategy for Sustainable Rural Development” is a showcase of the journey of farmer and fishers’ clusters, in partnership with the Department of Agriculture and other stakeholders, in realizing the objectives of farm and fisheries clustering and consolidation.
DA-RFO-CAR Regional Executive Director Cameron P. Odsey led the DA-CAR in welcoming participants and guests to the DA F2C2 Luzon A Cluster Summit. Joining RED Odsey from the DA-CAR family are ATI-RTC-CAR OIC Charlie C. Sagudan, BFAR-CAR Assistant Regional Director Lois June B. Fermin, and CAR RAFC Chair Ryan U. Palunan. In his welcome message RED Odsey related the Cordillera region’s cultural and historical experience as a region with unique, diverse, and at the same time closely related peoples practicing in their own ways the principles of clustering and consolidation. DA F2C2 Program Director Shandy M. Hubilla headed the guests for the first F2C2 summit. He is joined by Emerson D. Yago from the ATI Central Office who is also the F2C2 Deputy Program Director. PhilRICE Isabela Branch Manager Joy Bartolome A. Duldulao also joined the guests during the activity.
Senator Cynthia A. Villar, Chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, DA Secretary William D. Dar, and DA Undersecretary for Operations Ariel T. Cayanan sent their respective prerecorded messages for the summit. In her keynote address Senator Villar emphasized the need for clustering and consolidation as one of the means to uplift the life of marginalized and smallholder farmers. Secretary Dar for his part recounted how the DA’s efforts in advocating and implementing clustering and consolidation had come a long way up to the present. He furthered that the DA remains steadfast in promoting farm and fisheries clustering and consolidation, popularly known as the Bayanihan Agri Clusters (BAC), as this is the first among its 18 key strategies under the One DA Reform Agenda. Usec. Cayanan, meanwhile, pointed out that one of the main objectives of the F2C2 summit is to promote the “big brother, small brother” partnership focusing on how advanced and larger farmers’ cooperatives can assist new and starting farmer cooperatives.
DA F2C2 Program Director Hubilla gave the first input for the plenary session in his presentation on the F2C2 program situationer, updates, framework and implementing guidelines. Director Hubilla reiterated that F2C2 is not something that is totally new and in fact it has been existing for a long time. This time, however, it was given a name and a renewed attention through the One DA Reform Agenda. It was also emphasized during the input that the implementation of the F2C2 program is in conjunction with other key strategies of the One DA Reform Agenda such as the Province-led Agriculture and Fisheries Extension System, and from the gains of other DA programs and projects such as the Philippine Rural Development Program (PRDP) among others.
Another feature of the F2C2 Luzon A Cluster Summit is the exhibit of F2C2 groups from CAR, Regions 1, 2, and 3 where clusters, collectively known in the DA as Farmer Cooperatives and Associations (FCA) showcased their products from fresh produce to processed products from matured farm businesses. DA F2C2 Program Director Shandy M. Hubilla and DA-RFO-CAR Regional Executive Director Cameron P. Odsey led the opening of the summit’s exhibit area. As the host region, CAR featured one of the outputs of the F2C2 program in the region focusing on one of its regional focus commodities which is coffee. The Atok Kape, which is a product brand name of the Atok Coffee Growers Association based in the municipality of Atok in the province of Benguet, filled the venue with the aroma of freshly brewed Arabica coffee-based coffee drinks. Summit participants were able to grab a cup of either plainly brewed Atok Kape Arabica coffee, Americano, or a shot or two of espresso.
Aside from discussing potential business ventures with the coffee industry stakeholders in Benguet, participants from regions 1, 2, and 3 also learned some basic features of fresh coffee brewing since the practice is not common in their respective localities. Aside from coffee, delegates from CAR also featured fresh highland, vegetables, heirloom rice from the provinces of Kalinga, and Mountain Province, and other Cordilleran processed products. The delegation from Region 2 sported munggo which is one of Cagayan Valley’s trademarks in terms of agriculture produce. Rice, onions, and other processed products of the region’s agri clusters were showcased during the event. Aside from rice, Region 3 brought to the spotlight their signature salted eggs and other agri products of clusters from Central Luzon.
The summit’s plenary sessions for the first day continued covering inputs from the Agricultural Credit Policy Council through Ms. Felipinas D. Gerardo who presented ACPC’s credit programs which the participating clusters may avail. Farmer groups also took the opportunity to clarify issues that their respective groups experienced in accessing ACPC credit programs. As a result, Ms. Gerardo was able to clarify some gray areas with the FCAs present and she was also able to gather pending issues for referrals to concerned ACPC personnel. The Sorosoro Ibaba Development Cooperative (SIDC) came in next sharing their Cooperative’s story and how they actualized the concepts of clustering and consolidation. Ms. Hazel May A. Sastado, the Business Development Manager of SIDC, started her sharing through the SIDC’s experience in cooperative building. She then bridged the SIDC’s cooperative building journey to their adoption of clustering and consolidation as a venue for improving their services and products value chain. After her sharing of their Cooperative’s experience in cooperative building and in clustering and consolidation, participants inquired on possible partnerships and business linkages where their group can venture with SIDC.
The second day of the DA-F2C2 Luzon A Cluster Summit plenary session focused on two main parts which are the inputs from resource persons and the sharing of F2C2 experience among the FCAs present. Mr. John Vincent Q. Gastanes, Founder of the Project Zacchaeus Marketing Cooperative highlighted the role of digital marketing in realizing the benefits of farm clustering and consolidation. He also emphasized how the youth, in their experience, can become powerful agents of digital marketing. The role of women in agriculture particularly in farm clustering and consolidation was also highlighted through Ms. Annete C. Patdu who is the founder of the Diaspora Farm Resort. Ms. Patdu reiterated that women themselves must persist in innovating starting from within the home leading to the farm up to marketing. Capping the summit’s plenary session is the sharing of experiences from selected FCAs representing CAR, regions 1, 2, and 3.
The summit’s final day brought the participants to the Haight’s Place farm located in Paoay, Atok, Benguet which is one of the DA-CAR’s target areas for F2C2 implementation involving highland vegetables. Ms. Cherry Sano, Municipal Agriculturist of Atok, gave an orientation on the agricultural profile of the municipality while Mr. Edward Haight represented the farmers’ groups in the area. Mr. Haight gave an overview of the area and the farm where he highlighted the historical developments of the vegetable industry in Benguet tracing its major roots right in their farm. He also noted that one of the main causes of the perennial issue of oversupply of vegetables and the consequent drop of prices in the market is the uncoordinated production system in the province where farmers tend to plant the same type of vegetables across barangays and municipalities. This practice, as Mr. Haight illustrated, will bring in huge volume of vegetables to the market almost at the same time while no matching significant increase in demand is present to absorb the volume thus plunging the market price so low that most farmers would rather choose to give their produce for free or just leave the crops to rot in the field. He then concluded that this scenario can be best addressed through a working and sustained farm clustering and consolidation. After Mr. Haight’s sharing of their farm and marketing experiences, participants were able to witness firsthand how potatoes are harvested at the farm.
