The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Inspection and Enforcement (DA IE) visited Bongabon, Nueva Ecija on February 16 in accordance with the Department’s goal of a resilient Philippines with secure access to sustainable food.

Assistant Secretary James A. Layug had a consultation with the onion farmer leaders with project leaders regarding their issues and concerns about onion prices and hoarding of onion products.

According to Mr. Victor Layug, President of Pesa Onion and Vegetable Farmers’ Association, prevalent smuggling of onions causes their product to be not bought by middlemen since smuggled onions are much cheaper or the product won’t be harvested since there are no buyers. This will cause “stop buying” and the price of onions will drop lower which will result in a loss in their profit.

Mr. Rocafort, Director of Pesa Onion and Vegetable Farmers’ Association, also said that the government should have readily available cold storages that farmers can use to store their harvested produce.

DA IE determined that farmers should have transportation subsidies so farmers can directly bring their produce to the markets and there’s no need for middlemen and traders.