Army worms lay siege on Nueva Ecija onion farms, farmers’ incomes

STO. DOMINGO, Nueva Ecija—Farmers in this small agricultural town are feeling the pinch as army worms wreaked havoc on onion farms.

Fearing that they could end up with no onions to sell, farmers have begun to prematurely gather crops two to three weeks ahead of the usual harvest period.

“Napaaga po ngayon ang harvest, malalaki pa nga ang ugat. Kesa po maubos ng uod kinukuha na po namin,” farmer Jovelyn Arellano told GMA News as she was piling up freshly collected onions under the searing sun.

Arellano said the army worm infestation had taken a heavy toll on ordinary tillers like her.

“Walang masaing, walang mabaon ang bata, walang pambayad sa utang,” Arellano lamented.

It was in the middle of February that farmers started to notice the army worms or “harabas” in local lingo, nibbling on onion leaves, then down to the crops.

“Napaaga kami ng tanim,maaga rin pumasok ang uod,” said Orlando de Leon, whose onion farm is on the verge of being wiped out by the army worm infestation.

De Leon stands to lose at least half of the P20,000 capital he spent on a 1,000 square meter onion farm, a relatively huge amount in a place where livelihood is scarce and poverty a perennial concern.

He first felt the worst devastation brought about by the army worms in 2015, he hasn’t recovered since.

“Sa ngayon talagang tatlong taon na wala kaming kinikita, bagsak,” De Leon said.

Farmers are advised to use organic pesticides once early signs of army worms are detected.  “Ang farmer kasi pag gumamit ng insectide na hindi akma para pumatay ng army worm, nagkakaroon sya ng resistance,” explained Ariel Alejo, Provincial Crop Protection Officer of Nueva Ecija.

Records from the Provincial Crop Protection Office of Nueva Ecija showed that as of March 7, a total of 770 hectares of onion farms had been ravaged in 12 cities and towns in the province, costing P40 million. The numbers are expected to balloon in the coming days.

Based on data gathered from the Philippine Statistics Authority, Nueva Ecija was the the country's top onion-producing province in 2016, accounting for a little over 60,000 metric tons of onions. —NB, GMA News