SCIENCE CITY OF MUNOZ – Farming, to be viable, requires strategic planning, too, Nueva Ecija farmers were told. Yoshiyuko Ueno, representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), urged farmers to adopt a system that will provide them advance information on particular crops they intend to plant to “to lessen the post-harvest loss and to increase the income of farmers through the prompt cropping plan attained by the system, matching of demand and supply of the agricultural products in the market.”
Even the production of squash, a supposedly high value crop, had to be strategized, Ueno said as he introduced a computer system which the JICA reportedly employs in its own agriculture programs.
The lack of planning,he said. “results to over-flooding of pumpkins in the market so price get very low.” “Needs for the prediction of market demands, compliance to the strategic cropping plan is required,” Ueno said of squash production in the Philippines.
Warlito Rupac, chairman of the Federation of Patriotic Farmers of Nueva Ecija, admitted that he, like other farmers in the province, engage in planting crops, from rice to vegetables, without any clue of possible market movement.
“Para kaming kalabaw na takbo nang takbo ay hindi alam kung saan pupunta,” Rupac said at the opening of a two-day Information for Technology for Agriculture Production, Distribution for Small and Medium Enterprises seminar here earlier this week.
“Wala kaming kaalam- alam sa teknolohiya ng sibuyas kahit uri ng binhi dahil ang sibuyas ay pandaigdigan, basta na lang kami nagtatanim,” Rupac added, saying this brings them on the verge of losing. Rupac and leaders of various primary cooperatives in Nueva Ecija participated in the activity which was highlighted by the signing of a memorandum of agreement among the Department of Agrarian Reform – Central Luzon represented by Regional Dir. Arnel Dizon, Rupac and the Japanese computer system provider, E-Support Link headed by Hiroyuki Fukatsu on Monday.
