By Danilo P. Padua, PhD
I think it was last year or the other year that some tomato farmers in Ifugao just dumped their produce along the road when tomato price hit the floor. It was a sorry sight for the farmers and the wasted tomato itself.
Now, this ghastly scenario is repeating itself somewhere else. Current tomato price is so low, the dumping of this commodity on the roadsides is not a remote possibility in other parts of the Philippines. To think that the harvest season is just starting. I can just imagine farmers regretting why they chose to grow tomato over other vegetables.
Just visited through at least 2 small markets in La Union-that of San Juan and San Gabriel municipalities at the end of February. The supply of tomato in these markets were actually very little that time, especially in the latter town that has its Kadiwa “store” opening only every 15th and end of the month.
The perceived oversupply maybe true only in some areas, while in others it is a bit on the low side. This could be a reflection of poor distribution, unwise planning, or just leaving farmers to do what they want to do. That is to say, the supply and demand of agri-products is not studied well in a nationwide or even region-wide setting.
What happened to the High Value Crops Program? We have an HVCP unit at the DA dedicated to such crops, yes, high value crops that include vegetables and fruits.
Of course, while the said unit is present in every region, it is not fully budgeted. And it has very limited financial support for all crops in its fold. It has to still prioritize the crops in every region. High time to revisit such prioritization.
Also, that DA alone by its mandate seems to be unable to address everything related to food security-from planting to distribution, to marketing, to processing, etc.
Nowadays, we always hear about whole-of-nation approach in solving many national concerns such as the fight against insurgency, against the POGOs, and many more. And this appears to be working well. Why not follow the same approach to food security, in relation to demand and supply, distribution and marketing, processing, and agriproduct-smuggling.
I’m talking about inter-agency approach which is being done actually for other concerns. Whole-of-nation approach if you will.
The DA could work with DTI for the demand and supply, food processing and agri-preneurship concerns, among others; DILG for actual crop production, storage, peace and order, etc; DOST for research and technology, weather forecasting in production areas; DOTr for transportation or movement of products from places of surplus production to areas of scarcity. Other agencies maybe tapped as well where they have the expertise needed.
This is of course easier said than done, but it could be studied how those agencies could work in cadence for the common good of everyone, especially for food security.
Proper planning and coordination will surely lessen artificial shortages or oversupply (in some areas but simultaneous scarcity in other places), smuggling of agri-products such as rice, corn, onion, garlic, potato, carrot, and others.
The challenge is to have good coordination among agencies, and play the same music, to properly address the plight of famers, plug the open-secret flow of agri-product smuggling, while also protecting the interest of the consumers.
The way things are rolling at present, we should not be surprised if there will be other products that will show erratic pricing again such as the highland veggies, garlic, and sugar.
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