DA chief: No fund available to help farmers affected by oversupply of vegetables

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. on Tuesday admitted that there is no fund available to help farmers who are affected by the oversupply of vegetables.

''As of now, wala dahil we are technically, there is no fund to help them. What I have discussed with the FTI (Food Terminal, Inc.), just the other day is matayo na natin 'yung storage at mayroon na pagtataguan niyan (What I have discussed with the FTI just the other day is to build the storage so that we can store them),'' Laurel said. 

''Kung mayron mang incidents na ganyan, it's either itago ng farmer 'yung excess production nila sa storage, whether that’s subsidized by the government that has yet to be arranged or the government buys those excess products at a certain price to be distributed to Kadiwa and everything but immediate solution to that, wala,'' he added. 

Recently, there have been reports of supposed oversupply of vegetables in some parts of the country. Early this year, residents found hundreds of cabbage by the roadside in Tublay, Benguet after farmers dumped them when traders refused to buy the vegetables.

The local government, however, denied that there was an oversupply of cabbage in the area.

Meanwhile, prices of cabbage have also dropped, with some of the farmers opting to dispose of their stocks that are no longer accepted by markets due to an oversupply.

Laurel said the government is trying to find measures to help the local farmers amid the reported oversupply of vegetables. 

"I think that’s the job of the government. As of the moment, our team at the DA is trying to figure out what we can give them. As far as cash ayuda is concerned, I’m actually not a believer in that, I’d rather give farm implements like seeds, fertilizers, something else, or ano. Pero definitely we will try our best na makatulong tayo kasi 'yan ang mandato natin (to help because that is our mandate),'' he said.—AOL, GMA Integrated News