House probe sought on farmers being forced to sell crops at loss

A RESOLUTION has been filed in the House of Representatives seeking an investigation into reports that farmers are being forced to sell their produce at steep discounts, amid stiff competition from smuggled vegetables.

House Resolution No. 2513 urged the House Committee on Agriculture and Food to investigate instances of farmers selling their harvests of onions, cabbage and celery at below cost. Aggregators are allegedly offering lower farmgate prices to make up for the rising price of fuel, while farmers themselves have had to pay more for fertilizer and other inputs.

According to the resolution, Fernando Bagyan of Apit Takto Kordilyera, a peasant alliance in the Cordillera region, told legislators that farmers were left with no recourse but to sell at low prices, or to leave their fields unharvested, with the rotting crops serving as fertilizer for the next planting.

House Minority Leader and Bayan Muna Representative Carlos Isagani T. Zarate said that smuggling of agricultural products has worsened due to the government policy of encouraging food imports. Mr. Zarate’s party-list filed the resolution.

“Smuggling is also exacerbated by the import policy of the Duterte administration, thereby further hurting farmers,” Mr. Zarate told BusinessWorld via Viber. “Farmers are forced to compete with the lower-priced imports” and sell low just to make a sale. 

Food security is at risk because of rising prices of fuel and fertilizer, he added, calling the government’s response to the Ukraine crisis “slow” and “reactive” measures in response to the Russia-Ukraine crisis. — Jaspearl Emerald G. Tan