Farmers should plant in-demand crops – Imee

FARMERS should plant crops that are in demand in the market, Sen. Maria Imelda Josefa “Imee” Marcos said.

Marcos conducted a dialogue to get an update with the program beneficiaries of the financial assistance of Young Farmers Challenge and Enhanced Kadiwa at Pampanga State Agriculture University on March 16.

“Dapat kung ano ang in demand sa market, ‘yun ang itatanim ninyo (You should plant what is in demand at the market),” she said.

Furthermore, Marcos took pinakbet and chopsuey as an example, in which she urged farmers to switch planting vegetables in pinakbet instead of vegetables in chopsuey.

“Ang baba ng presyo ng mga gulay pang pinakbet at ang taas ng presyo ng mga gulay pang chopsuey. Kaya mag-level up na from pinakbet to chopsuey (The prices of vegetables for pinakbet are low and the prices of vegetables for chopsuey are high. Thus, we have to level up from pinakbet to chopsuey),” she said.

The Young Farmers Challenge and Enhanced Kadiwa projects are financial assistance initiatives of the senator with the Department of Agriculture (DA).

According to the DA, “the Young Farmers Challenge Fund is a competitive financial grant assistance program for the youth who will engage in new agri-fishery enterprises. The program is open to all interested youth with proposed agri-fishery enterprises with profitability potential.”

It added, “The grants shall serve as startup capital for the planned agri-fishery enterprise operated by an individual youth or as a groupmanaged venture.”

According to the Presidential Communications Office, “the government is banking on the innovativeness and out-of-the box ideas of the young Filipinos to ensure food sustainability as well as the creation of opportunities in the agribusiness across the country.