DA assures aid for Mindoro onion farmers as farm-gate price drops

MANILA – The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Friday assured aid delivery to onion farmers as onion farm-gate prices plummeted in Oriental Mindoro.

Its remarks came after several onion farmers complained of oversupply, which the department attributed to the additional 40 percent of land area in the country devoted to planting onions, including those in Oriental Mindoro, Northern and Central Luzon, due to a good yield last year.

In a Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon briefing, Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel De Mesa said the current price per kilogram of onions ranges from P25 to P33.

"Mas mababa ito kaysa iyong mga nakalipas na araw at linggo na nasa mga P45 hanggang P55 per kilo (This is lower than the previous days and weeks, when the price range was P45 to P55 per kg.)," he said.

Reports said some farmers are keeping their produce at home, hoping that prices would increase in the coming months.

To alleviate further impact on farmers, the DA recently opened a storage facility in Oriental Mindoro to maintain the good quality of their produce.

"Ang maganda rito sa Bulalacao, sa Mindoro Oriental ay ini-naugurate na rin natin iyong bago nating cold storage na pinondohan ng Department of Agriculture. Ganundin iyong patuloy na marketing assistance natin (What's good here in Bulalacao, Oriental Mindoro is we inaugurated our new cold storage funded by the DA. We are also continuing to provide our marketing assistance)," De Mesa said.

He also mentioned securing linkage between affected onion farmers and the Food Terminal Inc. (FTI) to provide supplementary cold storage for their supply.

Besides this, De Mesa cited direct onion procurement from a major fast-food chain industry in the province.

Meanwhile, the latest data from the DA – Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Operations (DRRMO) office showed that Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan) has sustained the highest amount of agricultural damage due to the El Niño phenomenon at more than P770.45 million.

The figure includes more than P518.93 million worth of agricultural losses in both Oriental and Occidental Mindoro. (PNA)