MABALACAT CITY -- A party-list group has urged the government to support local farmers and plans to import onions.
This after President Duterte reportedly approved more importation of onion in what the group says will kill the livelihood of Filipino onion farmers who are chronically facing depressed farm gate prices.
Former representative Ariel “Ka Ayik” Casilao hit the reported approval of importation of 35,000 metric tons of red onions from China.
He added that local producers have already been distraught by depressed farm gate prices last year as brought about by importation, from the usual P30 to P45 per kilo down to P10 to P15 per kilo.
Top onion-producing provinces are Nueva Ecija, Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur and Occidental Mindoro.
“The long-term solution for the limited supply of local onion is government support and not importation. Local farmers usually loan from usurers as cost per hectare reach to as high as P150,000. For self-sufficiency and self-reliance, the government should promote local production, not importation,” he said as import-dependency on onion reached to as high as 52 percent in 2016, and in 2018 at 38.51 percent,” Casilao said.
He added that the mounting volume of importation will totally wipe out local production that will throw the country as full import-dependence on onions.
“We are already seeing the concrete results of the Duterte government’s liberalization policies in agriculture, in rice, galunggong, and now in onion. If these continues, the agriculture sector will be totally undermined and the consumers will be totally thrown into the control and domination of private traders and importers. Liberalization of the sector of food items destroys food security and will lead to hunger and poverty,” he said.
He urged the people to oppose the importation policies and support the call to support local onion farmers in the country.