Documentation on the Financing Practices of Vegetable Trader-Disposers at La Trinidad Trading Post.

Abstract

The study was conducted at the La Trinidad Vegetable Trading Post in Km5, Pico, La Trinidad, Benguet to find out the financing agreement between trader-disposers and farmers in terms of items financed, form of financing and amount to be financed, to find out how the trader-disposers collect the payments from the farmers; to find out the agreement in the disposal and payment of the vegetables; to determine the problems encountered by the trader-suppliers in their financing and disposing activities; and to find out how they remedy these problems. A total of 40 trader-disposers served as respondents of the study. The findings shows that all the respondents are financing farm inputs and cash advancement for personal use. For farm tools and equipment, kitchen utensils, food supply and land rent, not all the respondents financed them. Some are given in cash and some in kind. Some disposer-financiers limit the amount they finance and do not limit but base on the needs of the farmers. Disposer-financiers collects the payments of the amount they financed by deducting it from the sales proceeds of the vegetables delivered by the farmers. They do not charge interest but earn commission from what they sell. The disposers pay the farmers after they dispose the vegetables. In case of unsold vegetables, some disposers pay the farmers in advance base on the current price. The common problems trader-disposers encountered regarding financing and disposal activities are: difficulty in collecting credit from the farmers and buyers due to bankruptcy. Farmers not informing them of their harvest, money for farm inputs are used for personal; some farmers use the fertilizer in their own crops, sell some of the fertilizers, some buyers issue bouncing checks; and, difficulty in disposing vegetables due to low price.