Typhoon victims in Benguet recover losses with P1M Alstroemeria (flower) production

Atok, Benguet – Farmers in Atok, Benguet particularly the beneficiaries of the P1 million-worth microenterprise subproject on Alstroemeria production (flower production) of the Department of Agriculture- Philippine Rural Development Project (DA-PRDP) have bounced back and recovered from losses during the onslaught of Typhoon Lando in 2015.

Said farmers, mostly members of Cattubo Multi-purpose Cooperative, opted to engage in Alstroemeria production over vegetables after their proposal was approved for funding.

Alstroemeria is a Peruvian lily or lily of the Incas and a genus of flowering plants in the family Alstroemeriaceae. The Alstroemeria is sold at P40 to P100 per dozen and during special occasions, this can be bought for P60 to P150 per dozen.

This opened a new business opportunity selling their products in Metro Manila areas that eventually helped them recover.

Accordingly, the project chose Alstroemeria flowers being a resilient plant that could survive adverse weather conditions. It is also a low-maintenance plant that requires little amount of pesticide.

“The farm inputs we received through this enterprise have really augmented the income of typhoon-affected members and we plan to sustain this enterprise so that more of our members will benefit,” Cattubo Multi-purpose Cooperative manager Meana Calantas said in an interview by DA-PRDP-CAR.

The farm inputs given were 22 meters of polyethylene sheet, six tractors with farm implements, and four water tanks.

In an interview by Elvy Estacio of DA-PRDP-CAR to Calantas, the latter said the recipients returned the total cost of the polyethylene sheets to the cooperative on an installment basis without interest.

The tractors, meantime, were given in different sitios of Cattubo and are being rented out to them at PhP100.00 per hour, while the newly received water tanks are planned to be rented out by farmer members that do not have sufficient irrigation supply. Cattubo MPS has around 500 members, according to Estacio.

The collected payments will then be utilized as loans for the other interested members in support of their crop and cut flower production activities, may it be vegetables or Alstroemeria.

According to Estacio, the project was approved in 2017 and the grant was provided in 2018 with its other component delivered earlier this year.

“Per tranche kasi depende sa procurement ng provincial LGU kaya magkakaibang taon o buwan nila na-receive yung mga items,” Estacio explained, adding that Benguet PLGU provided 20 percent of the funding.

To date, the cooperative, according to Estacio, crafted its enterprise Operations Manual (OM), which includes policies and sanctions on how they will effectively implement and sustain their enterprise.

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