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The banana chips produced by the Omaganhan Farmers Agrarian Reform Cooperative in Tabango, Leyte (Photo courtesy of Department of Agriculture in Eastern Visayas)
TACLOBAN CITY 鈥� A P237-million project funded by World Bank (WB) will modernize banana chips processing in three Leyte towns, turning small-scale farming into a sustainable and profitable enterprise.
The initiative is dubbed as the Eastern Visayas Banana Processing and Marketing Enterprise (EVBPME).
Under the plan, the Omaganhan Farmers Agrarian Reform Cooperative (OFMPC) based in Tabango, Leyte will consolidate banana produce from 27 farmer clusters.
The clusters comprise 679 members across the towns of Villaba, Tabango and San Isidro.
鈥淭hese farmers will supply raw cardaba bananas to a modern processing facility in Villaba,鈥� the Department of Agriculture (DA) regional office here said in a statement on Tuesday.
The facility 鈥渦ses automated banana chip processing technology and adheres to international food safety standards,鈥� added the statement.
The EVBPME is one of the officially approved initiatives under the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP), marking a breakthrough in the local banana industry.
Of the P237 million investment, WB will provide a P142-million loan while the balance will be shared by the Philippine government and the OFMPC.
Established in 1989 as a multipurpose savings and credit cooperative, OFMPC has grown into a key player in the regional agriculture.
The group initially ventured into banana production in 2013 despite facing setbacks due to typhoons and market shifts.
The project is expected to generate 107 jobs during the operational phase and an additional 132 jobs through infrastructure development.
Beneficiaries鈥� incomes are projected to increase from P20,887 to P24,937 in the first year of operations, culminating in an average annual income hike of P64,020 over a 10-year period, according to DA.
While at the enterprise level, projected net income is P30 million annually, supported by a strong return on investment of 24 percent, an internal rate of return of 18 percent, and a payback period of 7.6 years./apl