Growing cabbages instead of rebels

It was a dusty ride on a rough road from the national highway in Sariaya, Quezon to Barangay Mamala at the foothills of Mount Banahaw. The barangay, where the NPA’s Ka Roger was said to have often been sighted, was the second stop in our itinerary to see for ourselves how Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap is trying to create an alternative salad bowl for Metro Manila.

Sure enough, we soon found ourselves in a cabbage patch that grew pretty good sized cabbages that were ready for harvest. I talked to some of the farmers in the area and they told me that their barangay had been growing cabbages for years. The difference now is that with the combined efforts of Secretary Yap and Rep. Proceso Alcala of the second district of Quezon, they are also now growing chicharo, broccoli, cauliflower and other "chopsuey" vegetables.

Barangay Mamala can grow these upland vegetables because at 3,000 feet above sea level, it felt like Tagaytay even at high noon. In contrast, at the low land level of the national highway, they are growing eggplant, ampalaya, okra and other "pinakbet" vegetables.

It was easy to sense an upbeat mood among the farmers if only because they are now getting assistance from government in marketing their produce. They used to have no choice but to sell to the traders who tend to depress the farm gate prices, leaving farmers unable to even recover their investments in farm inputs and labor.

Rep. Alcala used his influence to cause the building of a Sentrong Pamilihang Bayan in Sariaya, where farmers can now bring their produce. From there, refrigerated trucks of the Department of Agriculture pick up the produce for distribution to the barangay food terminals spread out all over the city. Last Friday, we followed the trucks to the barangay food terminal in Western Bicutan in Taguig, where a large crowd of housewives were waiting.

The whole exercise is part of an attempt of Art Yap to cut the middleman in the vegetable trade by allowing farmers to market their produce directly to consumers in Metro Manila. If he succeeds, Art would have achieved two things: increase the income of the farmers and lower the cost of food to urban consumers.

Apparently, the prices of these vegetables more than double from the farm gate to the Metro Manila wet market or talipapa. The worst part however, is how the debt-ridden farmer is forced to sell to the middleman even at below production cost because the alternative is seeing the produce rot in the farm. In my conversations with some of the upland farmers, I was told that they get into debt at the start of the planting cycle when they buy vegetable seeds and fertilizers. They also borrow from usurers (often the middlemen) for subsistence while their plants grow.

Recovering the cost of production is hardly certain for these farmers. The prices of vegetables are very dependent on demand and supply. But the "hot pandesal" mentality prevails even in farms. They end up planting the same type of vegetable and harvest at about the same time, causing prices to plummet. Without adequate storage facilities, they are forced to sell even at a loss.

This is where Art’s program comes in. He provides refrigerated storage facilities and the alternative marketing outlets through the barangay markets. The refrigerated trucks also minimize the spoilage, usually reaching as much as 30 percent of vegetable harvests.

This is why, Rep. Alcala said, he has set up a computer system in his district that farmers can consult if they want to know what to plant. The computer data base contains information on the soil type as well as data on how many hectares are already planted to what vegetables and the expected date of harvest. Those are vital information farmers can use to avoid over production.

The goal for Southern Tagalog, according to Secretary Yap, is to plant some 4,000 hectares to assorted vegetables for a 20-percent share of the Metro Manila demand. He now has 600 hectares in this part of Quezon and he readily admits he has a long way to go. He is also looking at areas in Laguna for additional vegetable farms.

The advantage of Southern Tagalog to Benguet (which has more than 70-percent share of market) is proximity to Metro Manila. Travel time is shorter and it is not as affected by adverse weather and road conditions during the rainy season. It is also providing livelihood in a region where coconut, the traditional agricultural produce, had not been that productive in the recent past.

The relatively short crop cycle of two to three months not only keeps farmers busy but also puts money in their pockets quicker. That no doubt, keeps Ka Roger busy in other areas where the people are more dissatisfied with government and society. In the end, growing cabbages instead of rebels is better for everyone.

The weak link I noticed is financing, which can be addressed by microfinance. I guess it also helps that Rep. Alcala is a civil engineer who seems committed to serving the needs of his people rather than just making promises that’s typical of politicians. I also like the approach of Secretary Yap to focus not just on increasing production but also helping farmers with post harvest and marketing.

Hopefully, this partnership between national and local officials and farmers groups work out. It is about time the farmers made some money and urban consumers got some relief from high food prices. It is also nice to see some government officials thinking out of the box and taking bold steps to break the vicious cycle of keeping farmers and consumers in bondage.

Agri sector

I asked Secretary Yap how much agriculture will have to grow to realize the high growth rate Malacañang says it wants to get starting this year. Well, he said the sector must grow by five percent. And that depends on a lot of things including weather.

Secretary Yap expects the fisheries sector to be a major contributor to growth. He said he is investing in hatcheries nationwide. He is also looking at helping the sector reduce its feed costs by as much as 40 percent by developing duck weed. Commercial fish farms, bangus and tilapia, will be major contributors to growth.

Improving post harvest facilities is also a major concern for Secretary Yap. To this end, he made sure the Bureau of Post Harvest, Research and Extension is well funded. His being on top of post harvest initiatives provides assurance that this bureau will perform under his watch.

He said he agrees with the concern recently expressed by Sen. Ralph Recto on the need to improve post-harvest facilities nationwide to prevent losses that range from 15 percent to a high of 32 percent. Recto calculated that 15-percent rice losses would be enough to feed Metro Manilans for a year.

Using the production figure of 15.4 million metric tons of palay last year as basis, Recto’s computation shows losses from a low of 1.31 million MT to 4.93 million MT. "At a recovery rate of 60 percent, it translates to a low of 786,000 million MT of rice to a high of 4.93 million MT, all of it gone to waste. The huge volume lost is far higher than the total rice importations of the country for last year."

First love

From Sonny Mendoza.

Anak: Inay, totoo ba na "First love never dies"?

Nanay: Aba, oo. Tignan mo yang tatay mo, hanggang ngayon, buhay pa ang animal!

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is [email protected]