Cordillera benefits from government’s post harvest program

LA TRINIDAD — Two government programs designed to reduce postharvest losses in vegetables are now helping farmers in areas with rugged terrains, particularly those in the Cordillera.

The postharvest intervention programs are the agricultural tramline and cold chain system being implemented by the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Postharvest Research and Extension (DA-BPRE).

"These postharvest technologies ensure food safety by transporting farmers’ produce from the farm to the market, preserving their high quality for the benefit of Filipino consumers," BPRE reported.

BPRE, headed by Director Ricardo Cachuela, is DA’s bureau tasked with developing the country’s postharvest industry through the generation and extension of postharvest technologies and systems.

A study conducted by a BPRE research team headed by M.E. Ramos noted that harvesting, hauling, and transport losses of highland vegetables at the farmers’ level ranged from five to 24 percent.

At the traders’ level, especially those based in Metro Manila and transacting business with wholesalers and retailers in Benguet, average postharvest handling losses of vegetables ranged from 10 to 18 percent.

The government’s postharvest intervention measures are expected to reduce such losses.

The tramline technology, BPRE explained, is an alternative transport system for farmers in areas isolated from road network because of ravines, dense vegetations, and rivers. It is a hauling facility using cables and pulleys transporting agricultural produce and inputs from isolated farms to the nearest roads.

BPRE has implemented a National Program for Agricultural Tramline Systems in partnership with DA-Regional Field Units (RFUs), local government units (LGUs), farmer cooperatives, manufacturers, and representatives of congressional districts.

Tramlines have been established in the Benguet towns of Atok (fondly referred to as the "rooftop of the Cordilleras"), Kabayan, and Buguias; the Laguna town of Nagcarlan; and the Iloilo town of Alimodian.

A tramline has also been planned for Carranglan, Nueva Ecija.

Mario Palbusa, president of the Western Poblacion Farmers Association, attested that the tramline system has been of considerable help to farmers in his town.

The cold chain system, on the other hand, is composed of facilities such as packinghouses, pre-coolers, cold storage rooms, refrigerated transport, chillers, and refrigerated stalls in supermarkets and restaurants.

BPRE pointed out that it is a system with uninterrupted, refrigerated handling operation of high-value crops from the farm to the market. It provides low temperature environment to perishable crops at every chain to preserve its quality and prolong its shelf life.