By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA — Benguet farmers were forced to abandon sacks of freshly harvested Chinese cabbage and carrots along Labey-Lacamen Road in Tublay town on Sunday, Aug. 16, as plunging vegetable prices and the disappearance of buyers left them with few options to recover their production costs.
Farmers said the situation has become increasingly difficult as market prices fell sharply while buyers either drastically reduced their purchases or stopped buying altogether.
For many growers, bringing unsold vegetables to the trading centers in La Trinidad was no longer economically viable.
The cost of transporting the produce could exceed whatever amount they might earn from selling it, leaving farmers facing another loss even before their vegetables reached the market.
Rather than spend additional money transporting crops with little prospect of being sold, some farmers chose to discard their harvests along the roadside.
The problem has been compounded by continuing heavy rains, which farmers said have further disrupted their livelihood and affected vegetable production in the highlands.
The affected farmers are now appealing for government assistance as they struggle with the combined impact of weak demand, depressed farmgate prices and unfavorable weather conditions.
Benguet remains one of the country’s major vegetable-producing areas, supplying an estimated 70 to 80 percent of Luzon’s vegetable requirements, including those of Metro Manila.
For farmers who depend primarily on crop sales for their income, the unsold harvest represents more than wasted produce—it means lost earnings after investing time, labor and money in planting and harvesting.
ia/xf
