BAPTC - "Ikaw ang bida dito" (You are the star here)

The new facility which is the BAPTC.  It's pre-launch was well attended by stakeholders - farmers, traders, financiers, and personnel of different government line agencies.

One of the latest infrastructure that has changed (and continues to change) the La Trinidad is the Benguet Agri-Pinoy Trading Center or BAPTC.  It is also expected to change the lives of the communities in this town, the entire province of Benguet, even the Cordillera Administrative Region, and nearby provinces.  BAPTC as an institution has for its mission, as advertised in a brochure distributed, “Building avenues for farmers and buyers to have a better market access through participatory capability building and provision of innovative technologies and quality facilities collectively aimed at bringing desirable change towards inclusive growth and development.”

Secretary Alcala tastes the tamarillo at the mini-agro-trade-fair which is part of the BAPTC pre-launch

This trading facility had its pre-launch today, October 26, 2015 with the country’s Department of Agriculture Secretary, Hon. Proceso J. Alcala, as the Guest of Honor.  One of the first activities is the tour/inspection of facilities and some ceremonial trading.  At one point, the secretary interacted with some young men who were repacking wombok (Chinese cabbage) at one of the trading bays.  Cameras were chasing the secretary thus the young men tried to veer away from the flashes.  The men were probably farmers, or traders, or helpers and undoubtedly were among the main stakeholders of the trading center.  The secretary categorically recognized that thus he said to one of them, “Bakit ka umaalis? Ikaw ang bida dito!” (Why are you going away? You are the star here!)

The secretary’s spontaneous remark in that sequence reverberated throughout the event.  The speeches of government officials and local politicians in the opening program/stakeholder’s consultation had highlighted in different ways the importance of farmers, traders, financers, regulatory bodies, and other stakeholders in the success of the trading center.  It is touted to be the biggest trading center when it would be fully operational as it caters to this part that produces seventy to eighty percent of the vegetable supply in this country.

In giving an overview of the BAPTC project, Assistant Secretary Leandro Gazmin of the Department of Agriculture’s Agribusiness arm, mentioned of the many hardships that people from different sectors and agencies went through before today’s pre-launch.  He admits that there’s are still many things that have to be done before full swing trading operations can be done but are achievable when the different stakeholders places sense of ownership to the BAPTC.

There were seven agencies/sectors from where the project steering committee come. These are the Department of Agriculture  (DA) – Central Office, DA-CAR Regional Office, Benguet State University, Office of the Benguet Lone Congressional District, Provincial Local Government Unit-Benguet (PLGU), Municipal Local Government Unit-La Trinidad (MLGU), and the farmers sector.  They are represented in the steering committee by the current heads -  Secretary Alcala as Chairman, BSU President Ben D. Ladilad as Vice Chairman, and members are Benguet Congressman Ronald M. Cosalan, Benguet Governor Nestor B. Fongwan, La Trinidad Mayor Edna C. Tabanda, DA-CAR Regional Executive Director Lorenzo M. Caranguian, and John P. Sagpa-ey as representative of the farmers sector.  The roles of previous heads of some of these agencies were also acknowledged by Asec. Gazmin  - the three previous regional directors of DA-CAR, the immediate past president of BSU, and the preceding mayor of La Trinidad.

Vice Mayor Romeo Salda represented La Trinidad MLGU in the pre-launch.  He gave the welcome remarks in which he acknowledged the importance of the farmers and the different staeholders.

Governor Fongwan, in his speech, cited the role that the current La Trinidad Vegetable Trading Post has been accomplishing in promoting Benguet vegetables then stressed that BAPTC is the “next level” in the marketing of province’s produce.  He mentioned that BAPTC can soon cater to value adding processing systems such as better packaging hence better prices for the farmers to soon realize more income that can better empower farmers.

For his part, Rep. Cosalan identified two problems that the BAPTC is currently facing which he referred to the Agriculture Secretary.  One is the legal status of the BAPTC.  He asks, is it under DA or under BSU?  The other is the status of the representation of the farmers to the steering committee as the current representation is identified in the Memorandum of Agreement as interim.  He said that such should be addressed for the success of the BAPTC.

Farmers gave their testimonies/sharing of experiences.  Most of them identified problems the farmers are facing such as the price fluctuation, long queues to the current trading center, the possible impact of the free flow of goods from other countries due to the ASEAN economic integration.  They however have acknowledged seeing hope in the works of Secretary Alcala, including the establishment of the BAPTC.  As the farmers representative to the steering committee has said, the BAPTC offers better marketing system, centralizing trade because of the wider facility for better marketing power, and solving price disparity.

Secretary Alcala bolstered the hopes of the farmers and the stakeholders when he alluded that a successful trading center can really economically empower farmers.  He referred to the trading center which he established when he was Congressman in his home province of Quezon.  He jested that because of the successful trading center, the new problem of the farmers of his province is that their children always drive away with their SUV (with emphasis) at night.  He mentioned that said trading center is the model for the BAPTC except that the latter is grander.

   

   The vision for the BAPTC, presumably developed by the current Project Management Office headed by Chief Operations Officer Leon C. Cabradilla is “By 2020, the BAPTC is a world-class model trading center that empowers farmers and offers quality and safe agricultural products for consumers.”  Secretary Alcala, in closing his speech, placed a vivid image for farmer empowerment when he envisioned a time when farmers can proudly say to anyone, “Magsasaka ako….”

The young men at right (perhaps farmers, traders, or helpers) tried to escape the camera lenses but Secretary Alcala told them, you are the star here.  With the secretary during the tour of facilities and trading activities is the BSU President, Dr. Ben D. Ladilad (in photo) and officials and representatives of the Department of Agriculture and the local government units. 

Divine help was also very much underscored.  Many of the speakers referred to it especially mentioning the invocation led by Bishop Carlito Cenzon of the Diocese of Baguio.  Secreatary Alcala himself asked for continuous prayer from the Bishop for particularly the BAPTC and generally the agriculture industry of the region.