Truth be told, we're are having problems in disposing the Farm's share of the harvest. Already, we are throwing away kilos upon kilos of these sweet things and composting them instead (from earth they came, to earth they return. Bow!). We didn't expect this much harvest. The Farm's share alone is projected to be at 3,250 kilos. Many are still on the trees. The rest are in baskets, producing their own heat enough to ensure that they ripen naturally in 6-7 days from picking. There is very minimal response, if at all, from the villagers. Something must have gone wrong with the leafleting. Anyhoo, I already have contacted my friends in the Agriculture department (Rita) and PBSP (Jerome) to assist me in looking for people who are in the same business.
We have also saved the salvageables to be made into purees, shakes, and ice candies (not sold by the farm; by the staff lang in their own homes). My Plan of Action (POA) next year is: 1.) Explore markets (i.e. hook up with mango producers associations for networking, marketing to public markets and selling at farm gate prices (win-win solution), connecting with people's orgs, open stalls in weekend markets like Salcedo in Makati or somewhere nearer to us like the Lung Center). b.) Technology transfer via trainings (TLRC?) on how to make purees that have long shelf life, production of dried mango chips and bottled pickles and jams. When the coffeeshop opens, maybe we can have mango-based pastries as well. Oh, yes! Also liqueur. 3.) Schedule the spraying of the trees in batches so they don't bloom all at the same time. This way, we can dispose of fruits in batches, significantly reduce wastage, and increase farm income from its share.
Haaay. Feeling farmer na talaga ako.
No comments:
Post a Comment