MANILA - Vegetable terraces in Barangay Paoay, Atok, Benguet are brimming with repolyo or cabbage, and wombok or Chinese cabbage.

According to farmer Jeoffrey Tomas, he and his fellow farmers have been planting in the same time frame.

"Para sa akin lang kasi, noong last July, August hanggang September is mataas kasi ang presyo ng mga gulay noon. Kaya parang na-engganyo iyong mga tao na magsemilya ulit, baka sakali hanggang Disyembre siguro baka tataas ulit ang presyo... Noong lahat na nagtanim, pagdating sa trading post, nagkasalu-salubong kaya iyon, marami," he told ABS-CBN News.

"Minsan dito, nasubukan ko nang magbenta ng 2 pesos, ayaw pang bilhin. Wala tayong magagawa, kaysa itapon mo, ipamigay mo na lang," he added.

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While waiting for harvest season, farmers have no choice but to wait and make the most out of their natural resources.

This is also where they get their food every day to prevent spoilage.

At the Benguet Agri Pinoy Trading Center, this Jan. 14, green cabbage is at P13 to P15 per kilo, while white cabbage is at P7 to P10 per kilo.

Carrots are at P16 to P30 per kilo, while Chinese cabbage is at P10 to P12 per kilo.

"Sa mga farmer mababa talaga kasi kulang na kulang sa mga pantustos nila sa inputs nila... Labor, sa capital kasi malaki-laki kasi sa mga ginagamit nila sa garden is mataas. Tumaas lahat iyong bilihin," said market facilitator Nancy Pasian.

"Example iyong wombok kahapon ng umaga is naging P20 (per kilo). Tapos ngayon biglang baba kasi dumami iyong dating... Pag kasi nabagsakan sa baba, medyo matumal ang benta... Kasi hindi pa sila gaano nakakaubos sa Maynila," she added.

But for the Department of Agriculture (DA), there is no oversupply for highland vegetables like cabbage at Chinese cabbage.

"Iyong report ng regional field office natin sa Cordillera kasama ang mga LGUs, sinasabi nila na wala namang oversupply. In fact, kung titingnan natin iyong datos kabuuan ng 2023 vs 2022, meron very slight decline overall production year on year basis. But iyong last quarter, nagkaroon naman ng increase dahil wala halos bagyo," explained DA Spokesperson Arnel De Mesa.

"Iyong unang report kasi ng Cordillera Regional Field Office natin, iyong first three days ay hindi ganoon karami iyong umakyat na byahero doon sa trading post. So after that bumalik ulit sa dati. In fact, simula Jan. 8 kung hindi ako nagkakamali ay - pagdating kasi ng alas-12, alas-2 ay natatapos na iyong transactions. Bumalik na ulit sa ganoong level. Dati kasi talagang naipit iyong products sa trading post," he added.

But why are prices of vegetables still high in some markets, especially in NCR?

"Tuloy tuloy pa rin naman ang Kadiwa... I-check namin iyong prices na ganoon pero kasi siyempre, iyong mga retailers they have to assume some of the cost. But titingnan muna namin, pag-aralan namin iyong cost nila doon at cost dito, saan iyong mga issues," De Mesa said.

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PLIGHT OF FARMERS

Hector Tomas grew up as a farmer, but later on opted to become a tour guide at Mt. Olis Viewpoint in Atok because he could no longer take the long hours of work in the field, only to get a small income.

"Masakit sa balakang, for sure buong araw ka from 6 am to 6 pm... Kung mag-overtime ka pa hanggang gabi... Uminit man o bumagyo, trabaho pa rin kami," he told ABS-CBN News.

"Ang pagtatanim po, ma-proseso. From zero, scratch ka. Bubungkalin mo iyong lupa, ipapatag mo, gagawa ka ng mga butas butas... Lalagyan mo ng abono, magtatanim ka, whole month iyon na gagawin mo, mag-prepare. Habang tapos ka na magtanim, spray ka pa," he added.

Tomas is still a proud product of a predominantly farmer household - and is hopeful that people will soon realize how to help them.

"At the end of the day, umaasa ka na iyong presyo mataas din... At least man lang sana, bumalik iyong puhunan at may matirang extra para may pang gastos," he said.

"Sana lang direkta bumili ang consumers sa farmer, siguro makakamura sila. Iyon lang kasi talaga ang lakaran is pasa pasa iyan. Kami, halimbawa, bagsakan namin sa La Trinidad, doon nire-repack, nilalagay sa truckings, ipapasama na naman sa consumer. Papatungan kaya nagmamahal," he added.

Meanwhile, DA Sec. Francisco Tiu admitted 30 percent of vegetable produce was lost due to wastage, because of what he dubbed as "poor logistics" in the "supply chain".

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“If we can lessen or eliminate yung losses na yun, that is equivalent to 10-15 percent of the cost to our vegetables and fruits... Ang immediate solution is cold storage for them to extend the shelf life... But ang overproduction is also a result of poor planning,” Tiu said in a press briefing in Malacañang.

“Our 3-year plan is to invest heavily in post harvest facilities and have more recovery in our product, lower the cost of rice and corn... Hopefully after 13-14 months, latest June next year, nandiyan na yung facility to address that,” he added.

The DA hopes to get about P93 billion allocation within three years to build cold storage facilities in different parts of the country, including FTI-Taguig City, Mindoro, Sariaya in Quezon Province, and La Union or Benguet.

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