Batangas boosts local farmers and fishers’ sales with Christmas bazaar

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BATANGAS CITY. Leveraging the heightened demand during the Christmas season, the provincial government in Batangas is championing the promotion of local agricultural products to uplift the livelihoods of Batangueño farmers and fisherfolk.

The Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPAg) has initiated “Barakahan sa Kapitolyo” (Camaraderie at the Capitol), a holiday bazaar featuring locally grown goods sold fresh at farmgate prices.

The bazaar commenced on Friday and is scheduled to continue until December 24.

Rod Bautista, head of OPAg, shared with the Philippine News Agency on Sunday that the project enables local producers to directly sell their products to consumers, eliminating the need for intermediaries.

“The OPAg tracked more than PHP3 million gross sales earned by our farmers, fishermen, and other local producers in the province,” he stated.

Bautista mentioned the participation of numerous food producers from various towns, including Bauan, Cuenca, Ibaan, Laurel, San Jose, San Juan, San Pascual, Rosario, and the City of Lipa.

He highlighted the availability of the highly sought-after maliputo fish (giant trevally) at reasonable prices in the bazaar. Maliputo is an indigenous fish found in Taal Lake.

“We are opening this project to the public so tourists can see what Batangas has to offer. This will strengthen the (provincial) economy, innovate local products, and give the province its identity,” Bautista emphasized.

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Si Venus L Peñaflor ay naging editor-in-chief ng Newsworld, isang lokal na pahayagan ng Laguna. Publisher din siya ng Daystar Gazette at Tutubi News Magazine. Siya ay isa ring pintor at doll face designer ng Ninay Dolls, ang unang Manikang Pilipino. Kasali siya sa DesignCrowd sa rank na #305 sa 640,000 graphic designers sa buong daigdig. Kasama din siya sa unang Local TV Broadcast sa Laguna na Beyond Manila. Aktibong kasapi siya ng San Pablo Jaycees Senate bilang isang JCI Senator.