On my way to work each day, I pass by a Jollibee
fast food outlet. This place is
decorated with a well- known logo on a tall sign and the whole place is painted
in distinctive red, white, grey and yellow color scheme. It has a three dimensional Jolibee mascot
displayed right next to the main entrance and one can often see people taking
“selfies” next to this big bee. People
who have eaten at a Jolibee, even one time, can easily recognize a Jolibee
outlet anytime they pass by one. They know what menu items, service and prices
to expect inside as well. Jolibee
understands the need to have a strong brand identity and what is needed to
attract interest and a steady flow of customers. Jollibee also understands how to maintain a
sustainable retail supply chain that is able to keep food that they cook and
sell safe for consumers to eat. Their
supply chain management is a well-oiled and efficient enterprise that keeps
product flowing in the correct amounts so customers can get what they want when
ordering. Jolibee services also includes
an “invisible” cold chain component that keeps food fresh and unspoiled.
As our production and marketing enterprises
under the Philippine Cold Chain Project have progressed here in the Caraga
Region, we have learned a lot about the production and marketing systems for
perishable foods that exist here and the systems that need to be changed. Caraga or Region XIII has been jokingly
called a “pass through” region as it is a place that people “pass through” when
going from Cagayan de Oro to Davao or vice versa. One will have to look long
and hard to find standardized theme for promotion of the Caraga Region that
will entice people to stop and spend time here.
Unlike Jollibee, branding and promotion of
Caraga production and potential is disjointed and uncoordinated. Individual products with high prospects for brand
recognition or fair trade potential such as live groupers or lobsters, mangos,
fish, pork, bananas and vegetables are marketed with no thought to promotion or
origin. These perishable products move
around and out of the region with little or no thought to promotion of the
region’s potential or brand. While free
trade is the backbone to any democracy and demand for locally grown products
could be very strong, there are many examples of food products that are or
could be economically grown here in Caraga that are instead being shipped in
from outside the region. Many of these supply
lines are controlled in a less than democratic fashion. Most producers remain unorganized, especially
in regard to perishable food commodity groups.
Usually producers end up taking lower, less profitable or unprofitable
prices for their produce and end up as victims to middle men and inefficient
marketing practices.
Purchasing agents at big outlets like
Robinsons prefer to order from 'Bagsakans'
(areas for unloading products) in Cagayan de Oro or Davao because product
aggregation is an organized and regular activity there and enough volume and
variety of produce is available that “one stop shopping” is possible.
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| photo lifted @ http://i1.wp.com/www.cdodev.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/pier1.jpg |
Meanwhile in the Caraga region, unorganized availability
of commodities, multiple layers of marketing channels and price controls by
traders leads to a creation of system that is difficult for unorganized
producers or retail supply chains to benefit from. For example, in the Caraga Region there are
many producers willing and able to raise quality pigs for local markets. Quality feeds are available. We
have helped to solve issues involving lack of agriculture credit and have
helped to improve genetic materials available. But major pork wholesalers and
retailers are reluctant to change or deviate from their established marketing
channels that involve trucking live hogs from Davao or frozen halved hog
carcasses from Cagayan de Oro because volume, consolidation and integrated
supplier operations for hog raisers in the region do not exist. Until a
reliable market or markets is available for local production, small farmers who
are trying to claw their way out of poverty will remain only with dirty
fingernails and nothing in the bank!
We studied the mango production cycle and
marketing practices along Butuan Bay from Butuan to Carmen. We discovered ample mango orchards but also
found some systemic problems. First,
absentee ownership of mango plantations leads to abuse of trees from over
spraying and underinvestment in lot care, pruning and tree fertilization and
irrigation. Trees that could be very
productive and profitable end up becoming overstressed from lack of management
and proper care and over spraying for flower induction. This particular area could benefit from off
season production of mangos, taking advantage of higher prices. However, within the Region there remains to
be found any local enterprise group that has the capacity and ability to sort
and grade mangos as required by international standards. There is on group doing hot water treatment
to be able to ship mangos overseas from Butuan and no group engaged in
production of fresh frozen mango products.
Essentially mangos harvested here in the Caraga region become “Cebu”
mangos by default…and the potentials for branding of Caraga mangos and the
subsequent increases in marketing capacity and profitability that could come
from that remain untapped.
There is a similar situation for
bananas. At least 50 trucks of bananas
are put in hot containers or locally made pallets and shipped from the port of
Nasipit to Cebu or Manila weekly. But
all of these bananas are shipped out unsorted and ungraded and unboxed. As a result, there is product loss during
shipment and prices received by growers are at the lowest level…May of these
“third class” bananas could be sold at higher prices if they could be sorted, boxed
and shipped in better conditions and then sold in markets where higher quality
demands a higher price. While there
seems to be a certain satisfaction with selling the lowest priced banana
possible, this attitude only serves to reinforce the poverty of the poor
producer. All of these bananas leave the
region unbranded so there remains no building of a brand recognition among
consumers leading to no knowledge by consumers on where their bananas come from
or who they could contact to order more and subsequently help demand and prices
to increase.
The PCCP project, with assistance from East
West Seed staff has also shown that the Caraga region, especially in the
highland areas has huge potential for vegetable production. Once farmers adapt some simple, low chemical
and efficient technology, vegetable production here can be done in large volume
and high quality. However, without a centralized
aggregation market place where vegetables can be purchased in volume on a daily
basis, the traditional middle man reigns supreme and vegetable growers remain
as price takers, rather than price makers!
PCCP is trying to address this through development of a marketing center
located near the Nasipit port.
Additional new ways to aggregate and market vegetables whole sale is
needed in places like Surigao city and Tandag.
Live lobsters are our commodity of choice to
represent the uniqueness of the region and the Caraga brand but there is a long
way to go. Lobster production can be
profitable and provide a good income for small farmers. Demand for live lobsters remains good
throughout the year. However, little has
been done to develop connections with big buyers or high end restaurants that
would highlight the farm to table connection.
Nothing has been done to assure that each live lobster being shipped out
of the region is identified as a Caraga lobster or a Dinagat lobster or a
Surigao lobster. On the other hand,
everyone has heard of and at least seen pictures of Maine lobsters…but Caraga
lobsters remain as something completely unknown.
Caraga can do much better for its producers
if branding and recognition of quality products produced here improves and
becomes better. But right now, looking
for quality food in the region is much like passing by a Jolibee restaurant
that has no identifiable markings on the outside the building and is just
painted white. There may be some good
food inside but you can’t tell from the outside! You have to go inside and to discover the
good things that are there!
