DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/06 August) — The City Agriculture Office (CAO) will open the Organic Trading Post on Palma Gil St. this year.
The two-storey building will serve as a consolidation point of all organic products produced in Davao City.
CAO’s organic division program coordinator Joselito Tabora said the building cost P1.
9 million, P1.5 million from the Department of Agriculture (DA) XI and P400,000 from the city government.
He said a multipurpose cooperative with around 800 members will occupy the facility while a coffeeshop is being planned to for the second level.
FRESH AND ORGANIC. A farm attendant waters his produce which is sold at the organic market in Rizal Park, Davao city on Friday, August 22, 2014. MindaNews file photo by Toto Lozano
Construction started in the last quarter of 2014 and was completed in March this year.
The signing of the memorandum of agreement on the project between the city government and DA happened in 2012.
The project aims to “ensure availability and accessibility of certified and/or registered organic inputs and organic food for farmers, producers, manufacturers, and stakeholders interested in adopting organic agricultural practices.”
It also aims to promote organic inputs and products in strategic areas and provide an outlet for selling organic food products.
Tabora said organic products are slowly gaining ground in the city because people are becoming more health conscious, although there are those who don’t bother knowing how their foods are being produced.
The City Government has been conducting information drive, forums, and trainings to farmers to encourage them to venture into organic agriculture.
Recently, City Councilor Marissa Abella announced that the city will soon have an Agri-Pinoy Trading Center (APTC) for fresh fruits and vegetables produced in the city and neighboring areas.
She said farmers will also get trainings on best farming practices, including those on organic farming, to make local products globally competitive.
The APTC, which has a project cost of P70 million, will rise on a five-hectare property in Daliao, Toril.
The groundbreaking will be held sometime in September.
Abella added they are hoping to receive additional P70 million from DA to develop the next phase of the trading center. (Antonio L. Colina IV/MindaNews)
