Efficiency in farm production is just one half of the farming game. Marketing is one aspect that is as important as production.

We have observed that successful farmers are able to sell practically everything that they produce at a profitable price. And how do they do that?

By having their own stall in the public (or private) market. Just like Rodolfo Ondong of Valencia City in Bukidnon. He is a producer as well as a financier of squash growers. What he did was to acquire a stall at the Carbon market in Cebu City where he delivers tons and tons of Suprema squash every week. His wife manages the stall. He enjoys a lot of advantages over other traders who don’t have a close relative to manage their operations. And because he produces most of his merchandise, he can afford to sell his products at a more reasonable price.

Rasol Rosales of Brgy. Iponan, Cagayan de Oro City is a small-scale farmer, but he also has what may be considered as a successful operation.

He has been planting mainly kangkong in the last 13 years. Every three days, he plants 120 square meters to two kilos of kangkong seeds worth P500. After 20 days, he can harvest 200 to 280 kilos from that 120 square meters which his wife retails at P15 to P20 per kilo. He says he can sell everything because his wife has a stall in the public market.

We also remember the late David Remandaban of Tacloban City whom we interviewed in the late’80s. He was one of the most successful diversified farmers in Tacloban who grew calamansi, pigs, chicken and all kinds of vegetables. He got a big space in the public market that was managed by his wife and daughter-in-law. They sold all their harvest there everyday. They had lots of customers because they had a constant price whether it is ordinary day or it is fiesta time. At that time, they sold at least P2,500 (usually more) worth of farm produce every day. That was already a big amount at that time.