LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – The Philippine Councilors League (PCL) Tarlac chapter heeded the call of PCL–Benguet chapter president and boardmember Nestor B. Fongwan, Jr. for the purchase of highland vegetables from farmers in the province to be distributed as part of the relief goods for their constituents.
PCL–Tarlac chapter officials headed by boardmember Kristine Legaspi of Camiling town arrived in the province recently to purchase some 5 tons of assorted highland vegetables thereby adding a market for the vegetable producers in the face of the significant drop in the demand for vegetables due to the closure of food establishments supplied by the farmers.
“We are elated we are getting the needed support from our counterparts in different places in our effort to seek alternative markets for our famers who have been affected by the significant drop in the demand for vegetables as an effect of the enhanced community quarantine,” Boardmember Fongwan stressed.
Earlier, Fongwan proposed the barter of highland vegetables with lowland vegetables and other agricultural crops in the different parts of the country to ensure that local farmers will have alternative markets for their produce.
The provincial boardmember pointed out that industry stakeholders get their acts together alternative markets for the vegetable farmers where they can sell their produce at reasonable prices to allow them to recover their expenses in producing the vegetables due to the downturn in the demand for vegetables.
According to him, the PCL Benguet chapter is closely coordinating with other chapters in Luzon for the groups to purchase highland vegetables from the farmers to include in the relief goods they are distributing to their beneficiaries.
He stated that one of the heavily impacted sectors in the implementation of the enhanced community quarantine is the province’s agricultural sector because vegetable farmers do not have the market to sell their produce due to the stoppage of the operation of food establishments who are the main buyers of highland vegetables.
Fongwan claimed that with the expected response of some chapters in the purchase of local highland vegetables from farmers in the province, the buying price of the locally produced crops hopefully will stabilize so that farmers will be able to have sufficient income until the next harvest.
By Hent
