Cebu Capitol strengthens farm-to-market links, boosts local food production

Local

THE Cebu provincial government is strengthening its agricultural and fishery programs to increase local food production, improve farmers’ access to markets and help communities prepare for climate-related risks.

One of its key initiatives is Agri-Link, a digital platform connecting farmers directly with restaurants, hotels, local government units and other institutional buyers.

Provincial Agriculturist Dr. Roldan Saragena said the program aims to address supply imbalances across Cebu, where agricultural products may be abundant in one area but scarce and more expensive in another.

Through Agri-Link, buyers can post their requirements while farmers can offer available produce. Farmer groups may also consolidate their harvests to meet buyers’ volume and supply requirements.

“Agri-Link is literally a link between the farmers and the buyers,” Saragena said in the Capitol Public Information Office’s Istorya Cebu program.

The initiative is part of Gov. Pamela Baricuatro’s push to strengthen food security and improve the livelihood of farmers and fisherfolk.

Saragena said Cebu’s dependence on food supplies from outside the province contributes to higher prices, making increased local production important to both household food security and the tourism industry.

The provincial government is also encouraging farmers to produce more yellow corn, whose local sufficiency level stands at only 3 percent, according to Saragena.

To help farmers meet buyers’ quality standards, the province has established a corn-drying facility in Barangay Caputatan Sur, Medellin. Its four dryers can process a combined 60 metric tons of corn in about 10 hours. The facility helps farmers achieve the required moisture content and maintain grain quality, improving their chances of selling to institutional buyers, including feed manufacturers.

Meanwhile, the province is expanding fish production through its Pagpamuhi ug Isda sa Kabukiran ug sa Kadagatanprogram, which distributes tilapia fingerlings and feeds with assistance from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

As of 2026, the program had distributed 1.9 million tilapia fingerlings.

The provincial government is also establishing 95 fish cages, including 30 already completed and 65 under construction. Each cage is expected to produce two to 2.5 metric tons of fish per cycle.

Cebu requires about 101,000 metric tons of fish annually but produces only around 33,000 metric tons, Saragena said.

Other initiatives include the “Food Always in the Home” program, which promotes household vegetable gardening through the distribution of seeds, seedlings and organic fertilizers, as well as the raising of native Bisaya chickens.

With the threat of El Niño, the province is also encouraging farmers and fisherfolk to secure agricultural insurance through the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp.

Applications for crop, livestock, poultry and fishery insurance may be filed through municipal and city agriculture offices.

Saragena said protecting livelihoods while increasing local food production is crucial to improving Cebu’s food security and helping farmers and fisherfolk recover from potential losses.(MyTVCebu)