Manila, Philippines – Honesto Baniqued, who took over as president of the National Agribusiness Corp. (Nabcor) last Thursday, has promised to shift the corporation’s emphasis to direct food producers.
Baniqued stressed Nabcor will be committed to give farmers a fair shake, which means better prices for their produce and eventually eliminate middlemen who buy low and sell high.
He noted the sad experience of farmers in the Cordillera who had lost much by selling to some entrepreneurs who ended being pampered with cheap loans but who offer farmers credit with high interest.
One project Nabcor is pushing, he added, is the provision of drying equipment to help them overcome the impact of typhoons, with six such equipment set to be distributed among irrigators’ associations.
Baniqued revealed that he will transfer the Nabcor office from Tektite Towers at the Ortigas Center in Pasig City to the main office of the Deparment of Agriculture (DA) in Quezon City.
He said he wants to do this since “baka maligaw pa ang mga magsasaka at mga mangingisda sa Ortigas Center.” (Marvyn N. Benaning)