SORSOGON, March 29, 2022 – The Tula-Tula Norte Gulayan Association reported their initial income of Php 5,478 from their homemade peanut butter products, an enterprise expansion through the Department of Agriculture – Special Area for Agricultural Development (DA-SAAD) Program’s vegetable production project.

The association is located in Brgy Tula-Tula Norte, Magallanes, Sorsogon. The group has 30 members and is registered under the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in September 2020.

In January 2021, the group received High-Value Crops (HVC) package amounting to Php 748,108.  This included vegetable/fruit seeds (30kgs), budded calamansi (100pcs), mung bean seeds (7kg), root crop tubers (196 pcs), ginger seed (11kgs), muriate of potash (2 bags), complete fertilizer (60 bags), urea (15 bags), african night crawler (90 bags), laminated sacks (2pcs), yellow and gray laminated sacks (20pcs), brush cutter (1 unit), knapsack sprayer (10 units), drums (20pcs), garden tools (20 sets), hand trowel (30pcs), hand rake (30pcs), hand sprayer (30pcs), plastic tray (150pcs), bolo with scabbard (30pcs), plastic mulch (5 rolls), vegetable twine (30 rolls), garden hose (5 rolls), weighing scale (4pcs), crates (30pcs), (1 set), storage containers and packaging materials (1 set), PPE and hygiene kit (1 set), ingredients for processing (1 set), impulse sealer (2 units), and refractometer (1 unit).

In March 2021, the group started to earn income from their vegetable and watermelon harvest. After 6 months, the group was able to earn a total income of Php4,975.00 from their vegetable crops (Table 1).

Table 1. Tula Tula Norte Gulayan Association vegetable production earnings

Moreover, in June 2021, the group received an additional 40kgs of peanut seeds, various stainless kitchenware (1 set), and various kitchen utensils (1 set) amounting to Php 200,000 which is included in the HVC Package for 2021.

Afterward, in July 2021, the peanut seeds were equally distributed among the group’s members and were planted in each one’s 0.5 square meters (sqm) production area. In October 2021, the group harvested a total of seven kilograms from their planted peanuts. The low volume of the harvest was due to the occurrence of several typhoons in the area, which damaged most of the group’s crops. Despite the low harvest, the group was able to create ways to earn money from what they have produced.

“Dai po kami naka-income ki dakula sa pag benta ki mga gulay dahil sa sunod-sunod na pag-uran. Pero ginibuhan mi po ki paraan para may dagdag income an samuyang grupo. Sa tabang nin SAAD, nakagibo asin nakabenta kami nin peanut butter na hali sa income kan samuyang gulayan,”  member of the association, Efren Hisarsa, shared.

(We did not earn that much because of the continuous heavy rainfall. But we made other ways so that we can have additional income. Through SAAD’s assistance, we were able to make and sell peanut butter from our vegetable products’ earnings.)

According to Mr. Hisarsa, through the value-added training of the DA-SAAD Program, last November to December 2021,  they decided to use half of the Php 4,975 which were earned from their vegetable crops to buy ingredients for peanut butter making which they learned through the program’s Vegetable Processing and Enterprise Development Training last September 2021.

A small jar of peanut butter is sold at Php 50.00, the medium-size jar at Php 100, and the largest jar is valued at Php 150. In two months, they generated Php 5,478.00 net income (Table 2).

Table 2. Tula-Tula Norte Gulayan FA’s peanut butter enterprise income from November-December 2021

Plans

 According to the group’s president, Ms. Muriel Gabuyo, the association’s income will be deposited into their association’s Gubat St. Anthony Cooperative (GASC) savings account to maintain the safety of their hard-earned money.

Ms. Gabuyo shared her gratitude to the SAAD Program. She said that, “Dakulaon na pasasalamat po sa programa kan SAAD. Maski bako kadakula ang samuyang kinita sa gulay dahil sa pag uran-uran, nakatabang man ang pagbenta mi nin peanut butter para sa dagdag kita sa tabang kan SAAD. Sa taon na ini, mas sisipagan mi pa po an pag tatanom para makagibo kami nin iba pang produkto na hali sa gulay.”

 (A big thanks to the SAAD Program, although we did not earn that much because of the heavy rainfall, our peanut butter enterprise, through the assistance of SAAD, helped us with our additional earnings. This year, we will be more diligent in farming so that we can make other processed foods from vegetables.)

To boost their enterprise development this year, the association plans to make processed vegetable products such as kalabasa molido, kalabasa chips, veggie empanada, peanut brittle, and pechay kimchi which they also learned from the training on Vegetable Processing and Enterprise Development.  ###

Writer:

Pauline Trixia D. Borja, SAAD Program Sorsogon Information Officer

Sources:

Mary Rose Detera, SAAD Program Sorsogon Provincial Coordinator

Allen D. Jao, Magallanes Area Coordinator

Photos:

Pauline Trixia D. Borja

Allen D. Jao