Tone-toneladang gulay sa Ifugao at Benguet ang nabubulok at itinatapon na lang dahil hindi na raw maibebenta pa sa presyong kikita ang mga magsasaka. Ang isa sa mga itinuturong dahilan -- pagdami ng imported na gulay sa merkado na diumano'y smuggled ang karamihan! Sundan ang buong ulat sa video na ito.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 [Machinery sounds]
00:05 In the deep mud, they throw their tons of vegetables in the river and dig.
00:11 [Machinery sounds]
00:12 Some farmers are forced to sell their vegetables even if it's in a bad condition.
00:18 [Machinery sounds]
00:20 The reason is that they can no longer sell them at the right price.
00:23 [Music]
00:26 Because the cheap imported vegetables are expensive.
00:30 [Machinery sounds]
00:34 The problem is that the other vegetables are cheap and are smuggled or illegally imported to the country.
00:41 Just like the authorities in some warehouses in Manila, Kamakailan.
00:46 [Music]
00:48 How can the small farmers protect themselves against these threats?
00:53 [Music]
01:00 In a field in Tinok, Ifugao.
01:02 [Machinery sounds]
01:05 Some farmers were forced to throw a truck of cabbage that they planted.
01:10 These cabbages were also rotten because they can no longer sell them at the price they earn.
01:15 The traders took it too cheaply from them.
01:18 This is how they look like after they were not harvested from the farm.
01:23 [Machinery sounds]
01:27 Six tons of cabbage were also planted in Benguet.
01:31 The cabbages were not bought in the markets so they were just thrown away.
01:36 Around 200,000 kilos of tomatoes were thrown away by the farmers after they were rotten because of the cheap price they were given.
01:46 [Music]
01:48 This is what is happening when Brenson Mangsi is afraid of being exploited by the mountain province.
01:53 He has no land of his own and he is just farming.
01:56 He is also borrowing the vegetables he grows from the traders.
02:02 This is not good because the black part is already in.
02:05 When the black part is in, it is already bitter.
02:08 So I have to remove all of it.
02:13 That is why it is so important for him to earn.
02:16 The problem is that aside from the fact that Brenson has a share of the land he earns from the farmers,
02:22 the price of vegetables is also low.
02:27 Our problem with vegetables is that we cannot harvest them because we do not have enough money to pay for the crude oil we use.
02:35 That is why all of the vegetables are stacked and many are being destroyed.
02:41 We are waiting for the price to go up.
02:44 Like now, the crude oil is 2 pesos.
02:47 We used up all of it.
02:51 We do not have anything to give to the owner. I am already in debt.
02:55 Where will we get the money to pay for the daily expenses?
02:59 It is good that there is a non-government organization or NGO that bought from their farmers.
03:05 That day, Brenson and his fellow farmers planted Chinese cabbage and cabbage.
03:11 If the other trader gets 2 pesos per kilo from their cabbage, the NGO bought 12 pesos per kilo.
03:21 That is why they will be able to save for the next crop.
03:29 From Mountain Province, the vegetables will be transported to Manila.
03:37 In the NGO garage of the E-Care Foundation in Quezon City, the cabbage and Chinese cabbage were planted.
03:54 When it became bright, the vegetables that the farmers will buy came one by one.
04:04 Every time someone comes, I buy. I am also a farmer.
04:07 I know what are the expenses in planting this one, effort, transportation, and transportation.
04:15 20 pesos is not enough for the whole thing.
04:19 20 pesos per kilo. In the market, it is 52 pesos per kilo.
04:24 7 tons arrived this morning.
04:27 They bought this from the farmers for 12 pesos per kilo and sold it for 20 pesos per kilo.
04:34 For 12 pesos per kilo, the farmer was able to save for his crop and he will be able to plant it for the next crop.
04:44 If there is an income that they can get from selling vegetables, they will return it to the farmers.
04:53 Why did you start?
04:54 Someone called us and told us to take care of the vegetables and give it to the people in Manila.
05:02 Otherwise, they will throw it away.
05:05 Yes, we said that tomorrow, our truck will go there.
05:09 Another question that the group is asking is, even if the vegetables are cheap, why is the price of these vegetables high when it comes to the market?
05:18 It means that despite the promises to improve the supply chain, the supply chain is still a big problem.
05:28 Yes, yes.
05:29 So, this end is still low and you can see in the middle, it is high at the end.
05:34 Yes, yes.
05:35 We have made the story about the over supply of vegetables several times.
05:42 It is reaching the point where it should be thrown away because the prices are too low.
05:48 The Department of Agriculture always promises to add infrastructure, such as cold storage facilities.
05:55 According to the Department of Agriculture or DA, there are 268 cold storage facilities in the country.
06:05 They admitted that one of the problems is the lack of facilities.
06:09 We don't have enough cold storage facilities to bring in if we have experienced that our production is good and abundant.
06:18 Aside from cold storage, of course, distribution and logistics, how can it reach our market.
06:26 One of the main reasons for the small demand in their country is the importation of imported vegetables to the market.
06:34 But the bigger problem is that the imported vegetables are smuggled or the importers are not paid for their imports.
06:44 Just last week, three warehouses in Binondo, Manila were invaded by the National Bureau of Investigation, Anti-Organized and Transnational Crime Division.
06:56 The vegetables, like broccoli, were brought to the warehouses.
07:02 They look like smuggled because the boxes they were placed in have Chinese characters.
07:10 Last year, another case involving agricultural smuggling was filed in the Department of Justice or DOJ.
07:18 The most troublesome is that 56 of these are considered large-scale smuggling.
07:23 We sent letters and messages to the Bureau of Customs, but until now, they have not responded.
07:31 The DA's assurance is that they are consulting with the Bureau of Customs to stop the smuggling of vegetables.
07:38 Actually, some of them were arrested and now, they are in jail for smuggling onions.
07:43 This is the latest report from us.
07:46 We will really investigate this until we file the case and convict these people.
07:56 We feel sorry for the farmers and these vegetables are also dangerous because when they were brought in, they were not properly declared.
08:05 The problems that our farmers are facing are very serious.
08:11 From the lack of land, lack of facilities,
08:15 their crops are not being sold properly, and the increasing problem of smuggling.
08:24 That is why they are forcing the crops to go back to the garbage.
08:28 That is why I am asking our government to find a solution.
08:37 In this situation, the vegetables are being smuggled, and there is nothing they can do.
08:42 I am Mackie Pulido, and this is the Reporter's Notebook.
08:46 [Music]
09:08 you