It is sad to learn from the news that farmers in Compostela Valley who tried planting hot chili peppers are having problems marketing their product. The farmers planted these chili peppers as a substitute crop for coconuts which were destroyed by typhoon 'Pablo'.
The plight and predicament of the farmers show that it is not enough for government to simply support the production aspect of an enterprise but more important, government must also support all the other aspects of sustaining an enterprise as well.
Unfortunately the notion of livelihood assistance is usually confined to providing know how or production assistance with the assumption that beneficiaries can capably take care of the other aspects of the livelihood project.
But this is usually not the case and what we get are - like in the case of the Compostela farmers- sad stories of failure and wasted efforts.
In facing up to this problem I believe the government should explore the idea of a build-operate- train and transfer of an enterprise wherein beneficiaries are completely trained first in all aspects of the business that they will ultimately own.
This idea is in line with the Public-private partnership program of the government but instead of big business, the government will partner with the grassroots people.
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