The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) has linked the North Cotabato farmers to an institutional buyer of cardava bananas so that they could have a steady market for their agricultural produce.

The DAR linked the Arakan River Irrigators Credit Cooperative (ARICCO) of Naje, Arakan to Liberty Fruits Inc., at Mua-an Kidapawan City for them to directly conduct collective marketing for their fresh cardava banana products.

Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer II Charish Paña said the DAR trained ARICCO as a consolidator of clusters of smallholder cardava banana farmers from barangays Naje, Malibatuan and Doroluman so that they can collectively sell their bananas to have a just and more reasonable price for their products.

“After a series of consultations and planning with the Arakan Municipal Agriculturist, ARICCO was able to start their test marketing with a collective volume of 8,890 kilos of fresh cardava banana,” she said in a news release on Saturday.

Paña said the DAR would sustain its assistance to the farmers to allow them to have a steady market for their products and make their lives better.

“Linking them with the institutional market is part of the DAR’s support services intervention to ensure that we could help boost the agricultural sector in the countryside,” she said.

The effort was implemented under the DAR’s Linking Smallholder Farmers (LinkSFarmM) project in partnership with the local government unit and private entities. (PNA)