Plant-astic deal! Get 4 kilos of romaine lettuce from Benguet farmers for P249

MANILA, Philippines –  You better be-leaf it! Social enterprise Rural Rising (RuRi) is holding another produce rescue buy, this time featuring homegrown romaine and green ice lettuce from the farmers of La Trinidad, Benguet. 

The non-profit agricultural organization is offering a “buy-one-get-one” deal of three kilos of romaine lettuce and a free kilo of green ice lettuce for the price of P249. As of this writing, there are still 30 orders in stock that can be ordered through the website. Orders will be dispatched on Sunday, March 5. 

Orders can be picked up at the RuRi House on 72 Maayusin Street, UP Village, Diliman, Quezon City, or at RuRi South at Old Transport Terminal Bldg, Alabang Town Center, Theater Dr., Ayala Alabang.

Rural Rising shared the dire situation of farmers and husband and wife Jandel and Elery of La Trinidad, Benguet, who were “begging to sell their produce.”

“Forget about making a profit, forget about paying fellow farmers who helped them with the harvest, yung capital na lang. Pinagmamakaawa pa nila. Lagi na lang ‘para maibalik ang gastos namin.’ Bakit ganun?” (They were begging. It’s always so that they can recuperate what they spent. Why is it that way?) RuRi wrote.

“Why are our farmers always in this situation? They are always vulnerable to exploitation by middlemen who can name their price and say ‘take it or leave it,’” the organization added.

RuRi has hosted a number of rescue buys from different provinces, with recent ones including cauliflowers from Ilocos Sur, as well as carrots and jumbo strawberries from Benguet. – Rappler.com