Farmers told to vacate Benguet vegetable trading post

BENGUET, Philippines – The traditional center of highland vegetable marketing activities at Kilometer 5 in La Trinidad, Benguet, is set to be turned into a commercial complex for the cutflower industry, evicting veggie farmers, traders and disposers in the process.

This is by virtue of a Notice to Vacate issued by La Trinidad Mayor Edna Tabanda, ordering over 3,000 farmers, retailers and vegetable truckers to leave within 30 days or by March 1, 2016.

The La Trinidad vegetable trading post was developed in 1980s and is considered by farmers as a landmark in the strawberry-producing town.

Tabanda issued her eviction order with an advise for the farmers and vegetable traders to transact at the Benguet Agri-Pinoy Trading Center (BAPTC), about a kilometer away from the old trading post.

The P600-million BAPTC was developed thru the initiative of Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala. The government vegetable trading facility was opened last year but has so far failed to attract its intended market – the farmers.

Alfredo Tugay, a farmer from the municipality of Buguias, Benguet, said they refuse to trade their cabbage produce at the BAPTC due to several reasons. Primarily, Tugay said they are not familiar with the flow of business at BAPTC and they heard that operational fees will be collected from the farmers – not a practice at the old trading post.

“Vegetable products will be screened for quality standards they said, unlike in the old trading post where traders will buy all,” he said.

The farmers refuse to transfer to BAPTC due to the P1 per kilo fee that will be collected by the management. But Ardan Copas, the operations manager of BAPTC, said the fee was not yet implemented as there was clamor to lower it to 50 centavos.

The management of BAPTC is now offering an operation fee of 25 centavos to be collected from farmers who will use the facility, but this will still be discussed by stakeholders, including the local government units.

Copas said since the facility opened, they have been trading 40 tons of mixed vegetables daily.

According to the Benguet Farmers’ Marketing Cooperative, as much as 1.3 million tons of assorted vegetables are being sold at the old trading post and are being brought down to Metro Manila and outlying provinces each day. – Rappler.com