The agricultural sector of La Trinidad takes a hit amid the COVID-19 crisis as La Trinidad mayor Romeo Saldo officially orders a freeze on all activities in the town with the exception of the local government’s skeletal workforce as well as health and emergency workers.
[READ: Tons of fresh produce at risk of being wasted due to lack of transport amid COVID-19 quarantine]
Following two confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection, the capital town of Benguet has been closed down to an extreme enhanced community quarantine to make way for an extensive contact tracing in order to contain the virus.
With this, all roads leading to La Trinidad, including those in barangays, will be closed to all vehicles until Mar. 31 except for emergencies and shuttles for medical workers who will be passing through the main highway.
No travel permits will be issued for the two-day lockdown as well, and the agricultural sector—especially trading posts in La Trinidad where most vegetable products from Benguet are sold and packed—is not exempted from this measure.
While the Benguet Agri-Pinoy Trading Center will continue its operations, the La Trinidad Vegetable Trading Post (LTVTP) has been closed for the meantime. Vegetable shipments to Metro Manila and various other markets in Luzon are also temporarily halted as the lockdown takes effect.
Prior to this, traders in Manila have doubled their orders to avoid a temporary shortage of vegetables during La Trinidad’s lockdown period. However, farmers in Benguet have expressed how the announcement has caught them off-guard.
Marvin Kallay, a farmer from Buguias in Benguet, told Inquirer that the farming communities were unable to harvest all their crops because word about the extreme enhanced community quarantine did not reach them ahead of its implementation. Additionally, those who were able to receive the information also had difficulties in organizing manpower for harvesting before the lockdown took effect.
In response to the farmers’ woes about their harvest being wasted, the office of the Department of Agriculture in Cordillera offered to transport vegetables from small farmers’ groups to “Kadiwa ni Ani at Kita” stores in Metro Manila “pursuant to Agriculture Secretary William Dar’s directive under these trying situations.”
Benguet’s Vice Governor Johnny Waguis also started buying perishable vegetables from farmers who were unable to sell their produce last Mar. 29, noting how “we cannot waste time.”
Aside from vegetables being perishable goods, the agricultural sector’s worry about the lockdown also stems from the fact that 80 percent of the country’s highland vegetable supply—including carrots, cabbage, cauliflower, beans and lettuce—comes from Benguet.
Hopefully, since the extreme enhanced community quarantine period in La Trinidad only lasts for two days, the suspension of vegetable shipments to Manila and other parts of Luzon will not heavily impact its supply. Moreover, further measures and assistance are expected from local government units and other entities on helping the farming community in Benguet cover for their incomes which will be affected during the two-day quarantine.
Header photo from Inquirer.net
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