LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – Rep. Eric Yap is pushing for the imposition and regulation of farm gate price of highly perishable goods to prevent middlemen from taking advantage of the situation when there is a sudden drop in the wholesale buying prices of vegetables in various trading centers in the province.
Yap authored House Bill (HB) 9889 or the Farm Gate price Imposition and Regulation of highly Perishable Vegetables Act authorizes the department of agriculture to fix the farm gate prices of highly perishable goods to guarantee the income of farmers from their produce even when there is an oversupply of agricultural crops in the markets.
“Low and unregularized gate prices of highly perishable vegetables undermines the livelihood of our farmers. It is imperative that we prioritize the agricultural produce of our own farmers,” Congressman yap stressed.
Upon the enactment of the proposed law, the agriculture department will set a standard farm gate price index which shall impose a baseline price to protect the local farmers and shall allocate buffer funds for surplus of highly perishable vegetables to avoid wastage and revenue loss on the part of the farmers.
“Let us value the hard work of our farmers. Let us protect their established sources of livelihood,” he added.
For example, Yap pointed out that when the farm gate price of cabbage is P80 per kilo, it is still possible that the same can be sold at much higher price considering that it is only a floor price but it can no longer be sold at a price lower than P80 so that the farmers will have a guaranteed income which they could use to sustain the living condition of their families.
According to him, the standard farm gate price will still be subjected to seasonal review and changes depending on the agreement that will be made between the agriculture department serving as the regulatory body and the concerned agriculture industry stakeholders.
If the produce will not be bought in the market because of oversupply, he explained that the agriculture department will have a buffer fund which will be used so that the government will purchase the vegetables at the prescribed farm gate prices that will mean that the farmers will not suffer from heavy losses in terms of guaranteed income and that there will be no vegetables that will be unnecessarily thrown away similar to what had been happening in the past.
“We seek the support of Congress to approve this bill so as to avoid wastage and revenue loss for our local farmers. It is high time that we prioritize the welfare and the established sources of livelihood of our farmers, the very people that keep our nation alive,” Yap said. By Dexter A. See