By Manny Piñol
San Jose, Occidental Mindoro – The Department of Agriculture has committed a standby loan facility of P300-M for Onion Farmers Cooperatives in Occidental Mindoro to be used in buying their members produce at a higher price of at least P15 per kilo.
The Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) will release the first P30-M next week to accredited cooperatives which will consolidate their members produce to be stored in cold storage facilities already identified by the DA.
DA MIMAROPA Regional Director Antonio Gerundio said the P300-M loan facility will be enough to cover the remaining Onion production of farmers in the province due for harvest starting next week.
The DA will shoulder the payment of the storage fees estimated at P65 per bag for every month of storage.
When the Onion is kept in cold storage facilities, the cooperatives and the DA will monitor the the price in the market and release the supply as soon as there is an upward trend.
The DA is also currently working on the resumption of the export of Shalots or Onion to neighbouring Indonesia which last week opened its market again to Philippine agricultural products, especially bananas and onion.
The DA stepped in following complaints by Onion farmers that traders have dropped the buying price of Onion from a high of P30 last year to only P8 to P12 now.
Onion farmers in Occidental Mindoro harvest as much as 12 to 15 metric tons per hectare because of its good soil and ideal climate.
The DA also announced yesterday that the construction of four cold storage facilities for Occidental Mindoro has been included in its 2020 Budget proposal to be submitted to the Department of Budget and Management.
Loaning facilities of up to P150,000 are available to Onion farmers in Occidental Mindoro and other Onion growing provinces like Nueva Ecija, Tarlac and Iloilo.
The DA’s support for the Onion Industry has resulted in the increased production of the commodity which used to be imported from countries like India.
(Photos by DA AFID Biyaheng Bukid team.)
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