Teaching food processing to farmers can help ensure that what they worked hard for will be sold in the markets, avoiding incidents like the recent tomato dumping in Masoc, Bayombong in Nueva Vizcaya.

Picture yourself as the owner of the farm who has produced so much tomato that you couldn’t sell because all or most of the vendors you supply with the produce are already full of stock. He tried to give it away, but many were beyond their shelf life so they were discarded. Wasted harvest impacts small scale farmers hard.

In Nueva Ecija, a farmer also gave away a truckload of tomatoes since he failed to find buyers. The government, however, is coming to the rescue of such farmers by training them in food processing.

The Industrial Technology Development Institute of the Department of Science and Technology has conducted a study on the various food products that can be made from tomatoes such as bottled whole tomato, tomato paste, tomato sauce, tomato catsup and tomato candy. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) transfers the technology thru training, ensuring that the knowledge trickles down to farmers.

Last month, the DTI conducted training on tomato processing benefitting a total of 20 members of the Magao Ortilano Modernong Magsasakang Association in Concepcion, Tarlac. During the training, participants turned tomatoes into jam, sauce and ketchup.

The DTI also trained members of the Aduas Multipurpose Cooperative of Paniqui town on processing sweet potato-based products.

The agency also held seminars for various sectors, including farmers, to ensure the improvement, growth and sustainability of their businesses.

Aside from tomato processing, there are also training on processing fish, meat, vegetables and root crops, providing farmers additional livelihood.

On 1 to 3 October, a training on sweet potato processing was conducted at the Tarlac Agricultural University. A total 30 members of the Farmer Cooperatives and Associations of Tarlac took part in preparing polvoron, buchi, chips, shake, yema, pie and crispy camote leaves from sweet potato.

Meanwhile, government agencies provide loans and financial assistance to farmers and other beneficiaries to start their food processing business. The Santa Maria Kapatanian Agricultural Cooperative received extension support to start a sweet potato processing business. The cooperative submitted a re-entry plan, which will be monitored for 3 to 6 months after the training. This is likely a mentoring and monitoring part of the government agency to ensure that the beneficiaries will follow their business plans.

Processed food products have longer shelf life, opening up niche markets for specialized food for farmers.