MALAYBALAY CITY, Bukidnon — Ube farmers in Bukidnon are poised to gain access to a
more stable market and expanded production support following the formalization of a PhP35-
million investment partnership aimed at supplying high-quality purple yam for the global market.

The five-year initiative was sealed through a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signed Oct. 5
by the Department of Agriculture–Regional Field Office 10 (DA-RFO 10), Verueco Ventures
Corp. (VVC), and local farmer associations at the Northern Mindanao Agricultural Crops and
Livestock Research Complex (NMACLRC) here.
The DA-10 said the partnership involves the Lantapan Ube Planters Association (LUPA) of
Lantapan and the Balugto Hope Agroforestry Association Inc. of Talakag, which will enter into
separate profit-sharing arrangements with VVC to establish a reliable supply of quality ube.
The project is expected to produce about 1.5 million kilograms of ube annually, with farmers
gaining access to quality planting materials, farm inputs, technical assistance, investment support
and, most importantly, an assured market for their harvest.
VVC Treasurer Jan Romeo Verueco said the investment was driven by the growing potential of
ube in the international market. He said the project is the company’s pioneering venture
involving ube farmers as it seeks to establish a stable supply of raw material for processing.
Under the arrangement, harvested ube will be transported to Batangas for processing into ube
powder before being exported to the United States, opening a new international market for
Bukidnon farmers.
For the farmer-beneficiaries, the partnership could address one of the longstanding challenges in
agriculture: finding a dependable market for their produce.
Junita D. Luminda of Balugto Hope said the initiative gives farmers greater confidence to plant
because their produce already has a buyer.
“We are very grateful to be part of this project because this is the first time we have experienced
planting with an assured buyer,” Luminda said, recalling previous experiences when vegetable
oversupply resulted in losses for farmers.
LUPA chairperson Roel Soria said access to financing alone is not enough to sustain farming
without a dependable market.

“We may be able to find financing anywhere, but without a market, it is still of no use,” Soria
said, expressing gratitude to the DA for helping make the partnership possible.
DA-RFO 10 Regional Executive Director Jose Apollo Y. Pacamalan assured the company and
participating farmer groups of continued government support throughout the project’s
implementation.
He said the DA will provide soil sampling and analysis, farm machinery, organic fertilizers,
quality planting materials and regular field monitoring, among other interventions, to help ensure
productivity and sustainability.
The undertaking was also witnessed by Elevate Foods Group Chief Executive Officer Jose
Marcelo III and the Bukidnon Provincial Agriculture Office, represented by Jacqueline Julia
Lagamon.
The DA said the initiative underscores its efforts to forge strategic public-private partnerships
that provide farmers with market opportunities while expanding agricultural enterprises and
strengthening Bukidnon’s potential as a source of globally competitive crops.
(AMBM/melbmadera)