Quezon trading post extends lifeline to Benguet farmers

NEW MARKET | Three tons of cabbage bought from farmers in Benguet province are being sold at the trading post of the Sentrong Pamilihan ng Produktong Agrikultura sa Quezon Foundation
Inc. in Sariaya, Quezon. Farmers in Benguet are dealing with an oversupply of vegetables that drives prices down. (Photo courses of SPPAQFI)

LUCENA CITY, Quezon, Philippines — As farmers in Benguet province worry about their unsold vegetables, a trading post in Sariaya town in Quezon province came to their rescue before the produce rots amid an oversupply.

Carlo Cena, administrator of Sentrong Pamilihan ng Produktong Agrikultura sa Quezon Foundation Inc. (SPPAQFI), said the trading post dispatched a truck to Benguet and bought three tons of newly harvested vegetables, particularly cabbage, directly from the farmers.

“What is happening in Benguet is tragic for the vegetable farmers. They need help,” Cena told the Inquirer in a telephone interview on Wednesday.

Cena said they bought the cabbage from farmers in Benguet for P10 a kilogram. At the Sariaya trading post, the cabbage is sold per bundle of 10 kg at P150 or P15 a kg.

“The price is just enough to cover the cost of travel and other expenses. It was not a venture to earn money but to provide help and assistance,” he explained.

Cena added: “At least we can help lessen the loss of Benguet vegetable farmers. They can turn their farm produce into cash before these rot and are disposed of.”

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24/7 operation

Located along the Maharlika Highway in Barangay Sampaloc 2, the trading post is open 24 hours a day for transactions between farmers and traders.

The SPPAQFI, the first centralized vegetable trading post in southern Tagalog region, is a nonstock, nonprofit and nongovernment organization established in early 2000 through the Progressive Community and Ecological Services Organization. It is now also engaged in fresh meat and poultry trading.

Estacio Lim Jr., a member of the SPPAQFI board of trustees, said the trading post had long been helping distressed farmers in different parts of Luzon by buying their excess supply or assisting them in times of natural calamities.

“Farmers are ready to give a hand to a fellow farmer in distress,” Lim said.

The SPPAQFI has a team of professional marketing people that handles the promotion and selling of the products.

The Quezon Tri-Media Group (QTMG) also offered their help in the promotion and sale of the vegetables from Benguet.

“Our members on different media platforms have launched a campaign to help the noble mission of SPPAQFI,” Danny Ordoñez, QTMG president, said.

As of Wednesday morning, the trading post had already sold more than two tons of cabbage sourced from Benguet, Cena said.

“Hopefully, we can make another trip to Benguet and buy more,” he said.

Declining demand

Farmers in Benguet were reported discarding tons of cabbage, either tossing them off ravines or leaving them by the roadsides, as the vegetables start to rot before reaching markets.

The wholesale price of cabbage plummeted to as low as P1 per kg last week at the Benguet Agri-Pinoy Trading Center in La Trinidad town. Local traders attribute the decline in demand and prices to rampant vegetable smuggling.

Frost has also covered vegetable gardens as temperatures in the area have been dropping since the beginning of the year.

The SPPAQFI maintains precooling machines and refrigerated vans to preserve the freshness of newly harvested vegetables until they reach the market.

It has a daily average transaction of more than 200 tons of assorted vegetables, mostly highland varieties, like lettuce and cabbage.

These are being distributed to nearby provinces in the Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) region, Metro Manila and parts of the Bicol region. At least half of this daily volume goes to the national capital.