“Cordillera farmers must have a deep and unwavering understanding of their agricultural products to be able to benefit from their products,” this was how World Food Expo (WOFEX) President Joel Pascual characterized the potential of Cordillera farmers.
In the ‘Paella à la Cordillera’ culminating event of the Department of Agriculture Cordillera’s (DA-CAR) Farmer and Fisherfolk month, Pascual pointed out that product knowledge allows farmers to directly communicate better with their customers, answer questions, and solve problems that they may face.
“We have a network of food service establishments like hotels, restaurants, and caterers who are our end users of these products, and what we want to achieve is to use our network and connect them for the farmers to have direct access to the end users. It is important that our farmers understand the market to produce products that will sell,” Pascual said.
With farmers being tooled with product knowledge, they are allowed to understand their products and know how to adjust based on the requirements of the market.
As part of the preparations for the said event, 10 Chefs, business owners, and a representative of a canning company personally visited the farms of five Farmers Cooperatives and Association Cooperatives (FCAs) in Atok, Madaymen, Buguias, and Masnkayan in Benguet Province, signaling the start of direct linkage between the farmers and the end users.
“As far as I am informed, this program of the DA will continue, and we will continue to bring Chefs and restaurateurs up to the Cordillera so that they can understand the situation of the farmers. What is important is they will be able to establish a conversation between the farmer and the food service industry, giving the farmers a broader knowledge of the industry,” Pascual added.
WOFEX is the biggest and most effective food trade show in the Philippines and is consistently the most attended and most awaited food and hospitality event.
WOFEX has been a partner of DA that provides farmers the perfect venue for an exchange of ideas, services, and entrepreneurial insights. By JTLlanes