Bauko – One Town, One Product (OTOP) Is Creativity For Choice Commerce – Crop & Creature Combinations Are For Considerably Contented Communities & Counter-Climate Change!

I am cheering for Bauko people as the above image projects happy energy involving those farm families in Mountain Province, with personnel of the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) assisting them in the national program called Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD). SAAD moves make me cry – for more!

I am reading a Facebook post, 03 May 2022, of DA SAAD Mountain Province shared by Ulysses J Lustria. When it comes to farmers and families, I am always interested – how their lives can be improved.

In the post, ANN says (Author Not Named, “DA-SAAD Assisted Poulterers In Bauko Prove Devt; Seek More Intervention”):

The fourth class municipality [of Bauko] dwells more on the production of coffee, wines, woven products, and tourism – [for its decades-old One Town, One Product (OTOP).]. To strengthen other livelihood opportunities, the Department of Agriculture (DA) thru its [SAAD] program, in coordination [with] the local government units, was able to encourage and organize farmer cooperatives and associations to pursue the production of poultry [goods].

Hereby, ANN happily sees “The rise of poulterers in Bauko.” I say, willing to learn, we will learn. That applies to me, a wide-reader: I Google-checked the word “poulterers” as I did not encounter it before, although I am a UP Los Baños agriculture graduate, teacher. And now, I never heard of “Bauko” before.

Today, Bauko has 6 cooperatives and associations with 657 members implementing projects supported by DA-SAAD for P2,948,510, for the purchase of the Dekalb Brown and Ready-To-Lay chickens, feeds, vitamins; the construction of housing, and other needs. Total number of beneficiaries: 657.

ANN says, “The easy access to egg supply has also unlocked baking as an additional income [source] among the beneficiaries.” That also takes care of any oversupply of eggs in the market – instead of selling eggs at lower prices, the poulterers have opted to bake cakes, cookies, tarts, and other baked products. Products galore!

I understand poultry raising as I have personal experience – in high school, we raised for eggs White Leghorn (white) and New Hampshire (brown). We even learned to incubate eggs. So, I congratulate the Bauko people with their chicken and baking projects.

Today, I would like to point out other opportunities that Bauko farmers can engage in profitably – organic farming of vegetables.

According to SAAD Mountain Province (saad.da.gov.ph), the 2 high-crop-producing towns of Mountain Province are Bauko and Paracelis: “Bauko produces 47,798 MT of highland vegetables and Paracelis 33,100 MT.”

With such data on vegetables, plural, I would like to encourage the Bauko people to also engage in full organic farming of those crops. In this age of Climate Change, the concept of OTOP has outlived its usefulness.

Organic farming of Bauko vegetables will not only turn those sad-looking mountainsides into tourist-attractive greens but also help fight climate change by not applying the greenhouse-gas-generating chemical fertilizers & pesticides!

Bauko will then be known as the Mountain Province Capital of Healthy Foods – much more glamorous & valuable than a tourism claim.@517