DOST pitches solutions for excess vegetables in Benguet

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) on Thursday proposed solutions for Benguet farmers who struggle to sell their excess vegetables.

In a public briefing, DOST Undersecretary Leah Buendia said that post-harvest processing may help address their problem of unsold produce resulting in some vegetables being discarded, given for free or sold at much lower prices. 

“Matagal ng may food innovation center dito sa Baguio. Ito ay nandoon sa aming cooperating agency na Benguet State University. Ito ay nagagawa ng prototyping ng mga equipment para makagawa ng iba’t ibang klaseng produkto out of the excess produce ng mga farmers,” she said. 

(There’s an established food innovation center here in Baguio, which is in our cooperating agency, the Benguet State University. They prototype equipment that can produce different types of products from the excess vegetables produced by farmers.) 

Buendia said there is also a cold storage facility in Benguet that can help store vegetables while they remain unsold to traders or buyers.

An alternative packaging system is also available in this cold storage facility that could make use of portions of vegetables before they rot entirely.

“Kapag tinatanggal ang outer part o layer ng mga vegetables ay pwede pa rin nating gamitin. Ipa-package lang na parang pwede ready to cook or ready to eat na salad, or ready to cook na mga vegetables for stir fry,” the DOST official added.

(If the outer part or layer of vegetables are removed they can still be used. The remaining portions will be packaged and can be marketed as part of ready to cook or ready to eat meals.)

Buendia made the recommendation following reports that residents found hundreds of cabbage dumped by farmers by the roadside in Tublay, Benguet, after traders refused to buy the vegetables. The cabbages, as well as radishes from another truck, were given away for free.

Five tons of fresh vegetables from Benguet were also rescued by a Marikina resident. These vegetables were initially rejected by vendors in Balintawak, Divisoria, Taguig, Pasig, Tarlac and Pangasinan before they were bought and sold on social media.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) said Wednesday the trading of vegetables in Baguio and La Trinidad in Benguet has returned to normal.

Meanwhile, a local traders group in Benguet blamed smuggling of imported vegetables as the main reason behind the low sales of local vegetables in the province. —RF, GMA Integrated News