As crop prices drop, netizens call to support local farmers

Jaira Krishelle Balboa

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As crop prices drop, netizens call to support local farmers
Netizens share calls for support for farmers from the public and the government through #StandWithFarmers

MANILA, Philippines – In Benguet, vegetables were left to rot on the road as truckloads of crops were turned down because of their low prices. This caused farmers to have an excessive amount of crops.

Despite the rising prices of goods in the market, farmers sold their crops for as low as P5 per kilo, just so they could break even and prevent their crops from going to waste.

A number of farmers even resorted to Facebook to try and get buyers for their vegetables.

Don Pulubi, a farmer for 20 years from Nueva Ecija, took to Facebook to sell his pumpkins for just P6 per kilo, from the usual P12 to P16.

Despite the pumpkin’s slashed prices, Pulubi said only a few people bought from him and they still complained about the price.

Six pesos na nga lang, ‘yung iba namamahalan pa rin. Talo talaga kami,” said Pulubi. (It’s just P6, but other people still think it’s expensive. We’re really on the losing end here.)

The heartbreaking drop of prices gained a lot of attention from netizens, as they shared calls for support from the public and the government through #StandWithFarmers.

Netizens were saddened and furious to see local farmers resort to selling their harvests at deep discounts despite the hard work they put into growing them. With the Philippines being an agricultural country, they also pointed out the irony in how farmers are being treated.

Some asked government and establishments to help local farmers and stop importing crops from other countries. Others also suggested empowering agricultural sectors by patronizing Philippine products.

With the vast amount of agricultural products the Philippines has, other netizens hoped the government would intervene, so no crops would go to waste. They also mentioned that the government can up efforts to support farmers.

 

What do you think about the situation? Share your thoughts with us! – Rappler.com

Jaira Krishelle Balboa is a Rappler intern. She is a 4th year BA Journalism student at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.

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