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DAVAO City — The P 70-million Agri-Pinoy Trading Center (APTC) to be located on a five-hectare lot in Daliao, Toril district is scheduled for groundbreaking on Sept. 8 after Mayor Rodrigo Duterte signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Department of Agriculture (DA).

“DA conceptualized the establishment of the APTC to form part of the country’s integrated supply chain being established in major food producing regions to enable farmers and fisherfolk to sell their products directly, earn comfortable income and at the same time make basic food affordable and accessible to the consuming public,” DA XI Director Remelyn R. Recoter said.

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Under the MOA, the city government is allowed to use the Daliao property initially for 15 years with the possibility of renewal.

Councilor Marissa S. Abella, chair of the Committee on Agriculture and Food, said once all documentation is done, then it will allow the transfer of PhP 70 million from DA for the construction of the APTC.

Duterte earlier assured Dabawenyos that the bidding process for the construction of the food terminal will be above-board.

“There will be no monkey business in the bidding for the Food Terminal,” he said.

Duterte said he will not allow any subcontracting for the construction of the APTC since “only qualified contractors will be allowed to bid for the project. I’m giving you a guarantee there will be no subcontractor, no unqualified bidders because I want a clean bidding.”

There will be no financial contribution from the city but it will take charge of managing the center until it becomes sustainable.

Abella said the APTC is designed to enable farmers to skip through the layers of middlemen so they can access lucrative markets for their produce and increase their sales in the process. It shall serve as the market for agricultural products of farmers in the city and is seen to benefit even the small farmers in the Davao Region.

The APTC will be part of the 25-hectare Davao Food Exchange Complex in Daliao, Toril that will be developed in the next two years.

Abella said Davao City is the premier agricultural and trade center in Mindanao and has provided as its objective in the Comprehensive Land Use Development Plan (CLUP) the Food Complex which is in line with the APTC complex.

The city’s 2013-2022 CLUP has allocated 45.65% or a total of 111,387.49 hectares for agriculture. Agricultural land comprises the biggest portion of the city’s total land area because the city relies primarily on agriculture for food, feeds and raw materials for its agriculture and other industries.

Daliao is a strategic site for an APTC as it will capture most of the products coming from the agricultural production areas of Davao and nearby provinces and will thus provide market support to the farmers in Mindanao. The center will provide marketing infrastructure support for small and medium farm size vegetables, fruits and other food crop growers in the area. pna

 

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