Albay buys fresh veggies from local farmers for relief distribution

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines – Local government units (LGU) in Albay started distributing relief goods with fresh vegetables bought from local farmers. Cheryll Rebeta, provincial agriculturist, said the municipal agriculture offices in every LGU coordinated with the farmers to buy their locally produced vegetables and other crops. “The farmers don’t need to display their goods in the market. With this, they can avoid crowded places and there would be less movement,” Rebeta said. In Libon town, Mayor Wilfredo Maronilla said in a Facebook post that the vegetables and other relief items would be distributed to tricycle operators and drivers in their town who were severely affected by the enhanced community quarantine due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Meanwhile, while on home quarantine, interested households in 720 barangays in the province were also given vegetable seeds. “We need to plant vegetables in our backyard for continuous supply of food for our family,” Rebeta added. A total of 1,475 cans and bags of repacked seeds of ampalaya, eggplant, string beans, tomato, squash and other vegetables were initially distributed to different households.