PALAYAN CITY — The City Government of Palayan continues to boost the agricultural sector through expanded market access, farm machinery, production support, and sustainable farming practices.
Mayor Viandrei Nicole Cuevas shared these initiatives during her guest appearance on the Philippine Information Agency’s Leaders in Focus program, highlighting the city government’s efforts to go beyond supporting farm production by helping farmers secure stable and reliable markets for their harvests.
Cuevas said that while government agencies continue to provide support for crop production, marketing remains one of the major challenges faced by farmers.
“When farmers have only one market, the buyer dictates the price. But when they have multiple buyers, they become more stable and have greater bargaining power to choose the price they are willing to accept,” she said.
To address this challenge, the city government partnered with Jollibee Foods Corporation through the Farm Entrepreneurship Program, enabling Good Agricultural Practices (GAP)-certified farmer cooperatives to supply agricultural products under long-term contracts.
Cuevas said the partnership significantly increased the farmers’ deliveries—from 30 metric tons of onions in 2024 to more than 715 metric tons of onions, bell peppers, and calamansi in 2026—providing farmers with more stable prices despite fluctuations in the local market.
Aside from market linkages, the city government also assists farmers in securing GAP certification and provides production monitoring, farm machinery services, and agricultural inputs, including vegetable seeds, to boost productivity and help farmers recover from weather-related losses.
The local government also established a centralized farm machinery pool, allowing farmers to access equipment while minimizing maintenance costs.
Hand-operated rice seeders and other farm tools are likewise provided to irrigators’ associations to reduce labor requirements and lower production costs.
As part of its commitment to environmental sustainability, Palayan City also distributes bamboo seedlings in erosion-prone areas to help protect riverbanks, improve the environment, and create future livelihood opportunities through bamboo-based enterprises.
Through these initiatives, the city government aims to modernize agriculture, improve farmers’ incomes, strengthen local food production, and build a more resilient agricultural sector.
The initiatives support the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in advancing agricultural modernization, improving farmers’ competitiveness, strengthening market access, and ensuring food security through a more productive and market-driven agricultural sector. (CLJD/CNG, PIA Region 3-Nueva Ecija)