1. 'Nuts Going Bananas'
The story of Palo 19 is about a group of farmers operating a trading center. They’re neophytes in business that’s why I was sent by my agency to assist them, as specialist in marketing and developing enterprise. They failed (!) or we (?) since I was responsible for them.
Actually when I went to the place they already had a contract with a peanut buyer. The buyer wanted ten tons of peanuts at fifty pesos per kilo to be shipped to him in Manila. But, they weren’t able to produce what was demanded from them. Their reason was rats infested their peanuts. And, they decided to sell their remaining peanuts to local buyers at the town center at thirty pesos per kilo only. The ‘botched’ trade somehow dwindled their interest in planting peanuts. The center wasn’t able to recoup the capital and since then has difficulty in its operation, and eventually shutdown in 2002.
Palo 19 is one of the smallest barangays in Tampakan, a town in South Cotabato. At the top, it has 1,111 hectares devoted widely to farming. They plant banana, corn, coconut, root crops, and vegetables. They’re mostly migrants who decided to settle in the place for lack of gainful opportunities in the lowlands. In my report after my stint there I mentioned about the possibility of reviving the center. I said to my bosses that this could only happen if we hire business consultants to help them stabilize its business operation by finding new market for its bananas and other crops.
