President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said the government is planning more measures to assist onion farmers to improve onion production to stabilize supply and lower onion prices.
Marcos said after a sectoral meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 24, that these primarily include “increasing the area that is being planted to onions.”
“And secondly, we will help by – the DA (Department of Agriculture) will help by providing inputs,” he said.
“So the first part of that is we are going to the seed producers so that they will produce good seed that we can give to the farmers at some point. Iyon ang kanilang gamitin as inputs. And all that, what they need,” he continued.
Marcos also brought up the need for more cold storage facilities as he pointed out the insufficiency of such facilities to preserve agricultural products.
“So iyon ang mga plano, ‘yun ang mga ginawa namin para [sa] mga immediate needs doon sa ating mga nagtataasan na presyo ng agricultural products,” he said.
The extension of the P250 suggested retail price of onion has been deferred by the DA as prices are expected to go down after the harvest season.
The DA said the entry of over 5,000 metric tons (MT) of imported onion may also cut down prices to P100 to P150 a kilo.
On Jan. 10, the DA announced the importation of about 22,000 MT of onions to address price and supply issues. AG – gb
