MANILA – The Department of Agriculture (DA) has ordered stringent monitoring and intervention to protect tomato farmers amid reported plunging farmgate prices.
The farmgate price of local tomatoes dropped to as low as PHP7 per kg. in the Mountain Province, Nueva Vizcaya, Nueva Ecija, and Tarlac, according to recent data from the Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG).
In a Zoom interview, DA spokesperson Assistant Secretary Arnel De Mesa said they are now verifying actual prices on the ground.
“Ngayon, tuloy-tuloy monitoring ng Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Service (AMAS) at (Now, there is continuous monitoring from AMAS, and) we're coordinating with them,” he said.
He said DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. has instructed the agency’s regional field offices to coordinate who among them could buy tomatoes from the farmers and look for marketing arrangements.
The DA is also looking at selling the tomatoes at Kadiwa ng Pangulo (KNP) outlets.
“Isa iyan sa mga pwedeng intervention ng ating (That’s one of the possible interventions from our) regional field offices,” De Mesa said.
Another intervention is the coordination between the regional offices and local government units (LGUs), as well as other possible stakeholders, to assess market linkages to ensure reasonable buying prices ahead of the peak harvest season.
The harvest season for local tomatoes typically peaks from March to May.
SINAG executive director Jayson Cainglet told the Philippine News Agency that the buying price of tomatoes must be at least PHP15 per kg. to ensure farmers’ income.
De Mesa said interventions are crucial in preventing previous instances when tomato farmgate prices plunged to as low as PHP5 per kg.
“Kasi ‘yung mga LGUs, they have ways para matulungan din ‘yung mga local farmers nila, and ma-check din ‘yung mga marketing agreement, at the same time, maiwasan din later on baka mamaya magkaroon na naman ng mga disposal (The LGUs have ways to help their local farmers, and we can check the marketing agreements, and at the same time, to prevent possible disposal of produce later on),” he said.
To address possible surplus and prevent a seasonal drop in farmgate prices, De Mesa said a long-term solution would be the establishment of tomato processing facilities. (PNA)