Farming communities in Soibada Administrative Post, Manatuto Municipality, currently sell their produce directly from their homes due to the absence of a market space.
Soibada Administrative Post Administrator Terezinha da Costa Moniz said that in the past, communities would always take their produce to the market, but that since 2019, they had to stop because the market was damaged by landslides.
“Since 2019, our communities have only been selling the produce they have around their homes,” she said.
She explained that through the current Municipal Integrated Program, priorities were selected by the Administrative Post Assembly, and a decision has been made to construct a new market.
“We are now just waiting for the construction process of a proper market to facilitate our communities in selling their produce,” Soibada Post Administrator Moniz said via WhatsApp.
She said that for now, the communities will continue selling from home while waiting for the construction of the new market.
“The majority of people in this post depend on agriculture, so a market is urgently needed so they can sell the produce they have,” she stressed.
Meanwhile, farmer Juliana da Costa said that many crops are being grown, such as sweet potato, cassava, taro, corn and vegetables, but they cannot be taken to market because there is no market.
“Sometimes we sell from home, but no one buys, because everyone is farming, so there is no income. We just eat it ourselves,” she said.
She explained that in the past when they sold at the market, produce had value because people came to buy, but now it has no price.“Our hope is that a new market will be built soon so we can take our produce to sell and support our family’s economy. We urge that the market construction be accelerated,” she said.
