Cordillera farmers who were forced to dump or throw away truckloads of vegetables because there were no buyers will have to be compensated by government.
I made this decision tonight following confirmation by Cordillera Agriculture officials that the reason behind the failure of the farmers to sell their produce was Tropical Depression Usman which caused floods in the Bicol Region.
Director Cameron Odsey of the Department of Agriculture in the Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR) and regional DA consultant Rufino Panagan reported that traders refused to buy the vegetables delivered by the farmers to the Benguet Vegetable Trading Center because the floods in Bicol prevented them from shipping the commodities to Bicol and the Visayas.
Tropical Depression Usman hit the Bicol Region Dec. 28 and caused the closure of the national highway because of the floods thus preventing the transport of the vegetables.
My attention was caught by articles posted on Facebook blaming the DA for the failure of the farmers to sell their vegetables.
An Open Letter even accused me of working against the interest of the farmers, an accusation which is totally out of bounds but which I understand was triggered by high emotions.
This prompted me to personally investigate what the cause of the problem was and when it was made clear that Tropical Depression Usman was the root cause, I made the decision to order the compensation of the farmers.
Most of the farmers who lost their vegetables are beneficiaries of the Production Loan Easy Access (PLEA) credit program of the DA which gives them up to P50,000 at an interest of 6% every year.
The DA through the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) has allocated P100-M for the Cordillera vegetable farmers.
Others may have sourced their financing from informal lenders who charge exorbitant interests.
Tomorrow, the DA and the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) will start the validation process which would involve the identification of farmers who suffered losses and the estimated value of the vegetables they threw away.
The validation process could take two weeks, after which the release of the insurance payments would start.
I would like to assure our farmers that the administration of President Rody Duterte listens to the voices of our farmers and fishermen.
Accusations that the DA is insensitive to the plight of the Cordillera vegetable farmers are baseless and prematurely hurled.
As I have emphasized time and again, government is never perfect but this government will respond when the need arises.
(Photos attached to this article were downloaded from several Facebook accounts which posted articles on the issue. I thank them for posting these photos.)
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