Mindoro Occ. farmers 'dismayed' after onions bought at P8/kg sold at P700/kg in NCR

The farmers in San Jose, Occidental Mindoro were "dismayed" after learning that the onions they sold at a farm gate price of P8 to P15 per kilogram during the harvest season were being sold at around P700 per kilogram in Metro Manila at the end of the year.

This was aired by San Jose, Occidental Mindoro municipal agriculturist Romel Calingasan at a Senate hearing Monday.

"'Yung presyo na pinag-uusapan po natin ngayon na nag-raise po [sa] P650 to P700 sa merkado, 'yan po ay binili lamang po sa mga magsasaka ng San Jose, Occidental Mindoro ng P8 to 15 during harvest season... 'nung buwan po ng March to April," Calingasan told the senators.

"Kaya talaga pong ganon na lang ang pagkadismaya ng aming mga magsasaka...dahil po sobrang taas po ang naging presyo ng sibuyas. Sobrang pinagsamantalahan po ang presyo ng sibuyas," he added.

According to Calingasan, the farmers were categorized as consumers at the latter part of 2022 as they were also forced to buy onions at a higher price because they were not able to preserve their harvest due to lack of storage facilities in the province as well as in Metro Manila.

Calingasan said last year, the farmers were able to plant onions in 3,485 hectares of land but only less than five percent of their harvest can be accommodated in the storage facilities.

With this, he said the farmers had no choice but to sell 95% of their harvests to traders.

At the same hearing, senators learned that five onion farmers in Bayambang, Pangasinan have taken their own lives due to bankruptcy.

Elvin Jerome Laceda, the national president of Young Farmers Challenge Club of the Philippines, Inc., brought with him Merly, wife of one of the farmers who committed suicide last year.

"Last year po dahil nalugi ang kanilang farm, nag-suicide po ang kanyang asawa. Milyon-milyon ang utang po nila dahil don sa harabas (army worm). Ngayon pa lang po sila sana nakabawi pero dahil may importasyon po, wala pang 100 days ang kanilang onions po, kailangan nang i-harvest 85 to 90 days," Laceda said.

"'Yung istorya ni nanay sana hindi na po maulit sa ibang magsasaka. Lima na magsasaka po ang nagsuicide sa barangay nila," he added.

Laceda then appealed to the officials present at the Senate hearing to buy the agricultural products at a price that is beneficial to the farmers and the consumers.

Meanwhile, Agriculture Undersecretary  Mercedita Sombilla said during the same hearing that the prices of onions may drop to P120 to P150 kilograms after the local harvesting season.

In the past years, Sombilla said the prices of onions do not exceed P200 to P250 per kilogram and they were also surprised that the market price had reached almost P800 per kilogram.

“We are expecting na once 'yung pangako po nila na harvesting will come on the third and fourth week and then continued 'yan hanggang sa April [to] May, talagang babagsak po siguro. Hopefully, P120-P150 [per kilogram]  as in the past years," she said.—AOL, GMA Integrated News