Last Wednesday, senator Risa Hontiveros raised alarm over the impending importation by the Department of Agriculture (DA) of almost 22,000 tons of onions, urging its officials to wait for the turnout of local harvests next week before making a decision. She called on the DA and the Bureau of Plant Industry to be cautious about the volume of onions to be imported by the country, suggesting a two-step process of “import some, then wait and see.”
“It’s best to wait and see. Our onion farmers’ harvest season starts in a week and will last until April. If the yield is good like last year, we may not need to import 22,000 metric tons of onions,” she said.
Newsinfo.inquirer.net reported that Hontiveros made the statement following President Marcos’ approval of the importation of 21,060 tons of onions, just 940 tons fewer than the DA’s recommendation. Of the almost 22,000 tons to be imported, Marcos directed that 50 percent (about 10,530 tons ) be allocated for Luzon markets, while 25 percent each (about 5,265 tons) would be for consumers in Visayas and Mindanao.
DA to stop selling P170/kilo of onions at Kadiwa stores
The DA will stop selling onions at P170 per kilo at the Kadiwa centers starting on this Friday, amid an ongoing investigation by the Office of the Ombudsman on the controversial deal of the DA with a farmer cooperative.
Agriculture Deputy Spokesman Rex Estoperez said that it was the decision of the agency to stop selling highly subsidized onions at the Kadiwa outlets. "There is no more inventory of onions," he said.
Estoperez said that farmers are welcome to sell onions at the Kadiwa stores, but the DA will no longer provide support."If farmers can sell onions at the Kadiwa they are welcome but the P1 70 being subsidized is over."
Source: manilatimes.net
