Davao Food Terminal Complex to open Oct 18

The City Agriculturist’s Office (CAgrO) has announced that the Davao Food Terminal Complex (DFTC) in Barangay Daliao, Toril will begin trading operations on October 18.

The DFTC is a P70-Million project funded by the Department of Agriculture in Davao Region (DA-11). It will serve as the city’s official wholesale trading facility for all fruits and vegetables.

CAgrO Head Edgardo Haspe, during a Davao City Disaster Radio program on Wednesday, said with five hectares of land area, the wholesale facility is big enough to accommodate the bulk of agricultural produce in the city as well as those from neighboring regions.

The DFTC, Haspe said, has a spacious cold storage facility which will have eight refrigerated containers, but only four are ready to be used upon the facility’s partial operations.

Once opened, all fruits and vegetables from neighboring regions will be directed through the DFTC before reaching the retail markets in the city. Farmers within the city, on the other hand, will still be allowed to unload their produce in the public markets of Agdao, Bankerohan, Buhangin, Piapi, Matina Crossing, Calinan, Toril, Sasa, and Tibungco within one year of the DFTC’s operations. After this transition period, all produce sourced within and outside the city’s borders will be unloaded at the DFTC.

Since it is a wholesale “bagsakan,” the DFTC will be open 24/7, Haspe said.

The CAgrO, City Economic Enterprise and the City Cooperative Development Office will have satellite offices within the facility to administer its operations and safeguard the fair farmgate prices of produce.

Haspe said prices will be easier to determine and monitor since all fruits and vegetables will be unloaded at the same facility, which will in turn help guarantee the best market conditions for farmers.

“Makabalo gyud ang farmers kung unsa gyud ang current prevailing price sa market—price from the retailing, price sa wholesale ug, of course, padulong na na sa farmgate price (Our farmers will really know the current prevailing price in the market—price for retailing, for wholesale, and ultimately the farmgate price),” he said.

To avoid the overproduction of vegetables and ensure supply all year, the CAgrO is formulating a scheme that will give farmers the information on which kind of produce to plant at different times of the year.

“Naa mi’y gihimo na meeting sa atong mga grupo, farmers association, agri-cooperatives para sa atong ginahimo na production planning and even clustering, para ma-arrange nato unsa ilang itanom og kanus-a sila magtanom ani para dili magdagsa ang specific nga klase sa gulay o produkto nila para dili mubaba ang presyo (We are conducting meetings with our farmers associations, agricultural cooperatives for our production planning and even clustering so we can determine what specific type of vegetable or produce they [farmers] can plant at specific periods to prevent a surplus so that prices will not go down,” Haspe said. CIO