Why Igorots in Metro Manila directly
source goods from farmers
Two pesos a kilo for cabbage. Four pesos
for cucumber.
After spending money
to bring their produce to the nearest vegetable trading post in the last week
of July, Cordilleran farmers were given a cruel rate, crushing their hope of
raising cash to buy seeds for the next harvest.
A Sad Story for New-Gen Farmers
Shereen Umayat and
Jessica Dapliyan, two young farmers from Sagada, had a cheaper option for their
next maturing vegetables- let the plants rot in the farmland to stop having
additional expenses.
Asked how much she has
spent for her cucumber, Umayat computed it to be at least P40, 000.
While there are active
programs like Sustainable Sagada and Rural Rising organized to help ease the situation, not all produce in the remote Mountain Province town can be
accommodated.
Dapliyan, a former innkeeper who shifted to farming following travel bans, started giving away her
cabbage produce for free in September after unsuccessful attempts to sell what
her family has been working since community quarantine restrictions were
implemented.
