Over thirteen ( 13 ) Farmer Cooperatives and Associations, and eight ( 8 ) prospective buyers amounting to over thirty ( 30 ) FCA leaders, representatives, and LGU buyers and sellers participated in the 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗻 held by the 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗔𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 (𝗗𝗔-𝗔𝗠𝗔𝗦) at Java Hotel, Laoag City over the course of four days from August 27, 2024 to August 30, 2024.

With the theme “𝑨𝒅𝒗𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒇𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒔/𝒇𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒌-𝒕𝒐-𝒃𝒖𝒚𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑” DA-AMAS seeks to ease the flow of goods and transactions between farmers and buyers, allowing the FCAs to have an avenue to present their goods and services to the buyers who in turn are given a chance to present their requirements and what they are looking for in their sellers.

Market Development Division Chief Joyce M. Bengo while explaining the benefits of the Market Linkage Caravan stated, 𝘈𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘯𝘢 𝘯𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘤𝘺 𝘵𝘢𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘳-𝘵𝘰-𝘣𝘶𝘺𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱,” wherein they allow direct contacts between the source and the market. Furthermore, she also highlighted that, “𝘈𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 (𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘓𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘯) 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘱,” emphasizing the importance of building connections not just directly to buyers but also to other sellers.

In this light, Agricultural Coordinating Officer Midardo Pablo also remarked on the importance of the farmer-to-buyer connection through the Market Linkage Caravan stating, “𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴.” And that, “𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘶𝘦, 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳.”

The Market Linkage Caravan also involved activities such as presentations of commodity and livestock outlook, providing the latest data on commodities for investors to look into, a background on the FEEDIS System which ensures smooth flow of commodities from one location to another, business development trainings, the buyers’ presentation of requirements, open forums, and field visitations to entice buyers into investing into the growth of our local farmers.

The four-day Market Linkage Caravan set to build connections and pave the way for easy flow of goods between buyers and sellers is set to end on August 30, 2024.