The Department of Agriculture (DA) vowed to help Benguet farmers who are suffering from the effects of Coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
“I will direct the DA regional office to help address the problems currently being faced by the 130,000 Benguet farmers,” DA Secretary William Dar stated.
He emphasized that the government will give a ‘long-term’ solution to address the lower demands of vegetables
Due to the Covid-19, events and festivals in Benguet were suspended which resulted to reduce the vegetables sales of Benguet farmers.
“They will get assistance. We will instruct again the regional field unit of DA to help farmers who are experiencing problems. Perhaps, we can give them seeds,” Dar mentioned during the Palace briefing.
According to Agot Balanoy, head of Benguet Farmers Marketing Cooperative, the declining orders from restaurants, resorts, and hotels resulted difficulty for vegetable industry from December 2019 to February 2020.
At La Trinidad Trading Post, the price of the mighty ball variety of cabbage dropped for as low as PhP3 while the price of the rare ball amounted to PhP4, and PHP6 for the scorpio.
“We are elevating our game in terms of monitoring. We are monitoring the volume of production of commodities in different provinces that can be linked to other markets. So we will improve our responsibilities in that area,” Dar said.
Respectively, in the report from Philippine News Agency, Dar emphasized the “Kadiwa ni Ani at Kita,” where farmers can benefit from direct markets.
Source: Gov’t vows aid to Benguet farmers affected by Covid-19 impact
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