DA readies help for frost-affected Benguet veggie farmers

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Agriculture (DA) has positioned short-term and long-term interventions for frost-affected barangays in Benguet province.

Agriculture officials said the frost has negligible effect on the upland vegetable farms and would not affect supply to Metro Manila.

Jennifer Remoquillo, director of the DA’s High Value Crops Development Program, said the department’s Cordillera office would release an initial P5 million as a grant to procure equipment and install new irrigation systems.

To be delivered this week are 10 power sprayers, 50 plastic drums, and plastic sheets for the repair of damaged rain shelters.

The equipment would also enable farmers to prevent frosting from re-occurring.

The DA has sent a team of engineers to the affected barangays to design a so-called step-up irrigation system that would improve water supply in the uplands as a long-term solution to frosting that occurs annually.

For the meantime, vegetable farmers in Benguet use small community reservoirs.

The DA, according to Remoquillo, would also build more rain shelters and greenhouses in the province to help vegetable farmers cope with frost.

Night frosting in Barangays Paoay and Madaymen in Atok and Libungan towns, respectively, was observed on Dec. 30 when temperature dipped to nine degrees Celsius.

Affected were three hectares of cultivation areas for semi-temperate vegetables such as cabbage, lettuce, carrots, potatoes, beans and pechay. Of the total affected area, only a fourth of a hectare was damaged beyond recovery. The damage was valued at P335,000.

Paoay has 633 hectares dedicated to vegetable farming, and Madaymen, 97 hectares.

Remoquillo said Benguet now registers double-digit temperatures, making frosting less likely to re-occur.

Frosting, known locally as andap, is the development of moisture into ice crystals on plants. If not immediately watered, the affected crops would wilt as the sun melts the deposited ice.

The extreme temperature leaves the affected plants brownish until they die.

“By February, frosting will no longer occur because the winds can drive away the frost,” Remoquillo said.

She said the phenomenon would not significantly affect the supply and prices of vegetables in Metro Manila because there are alternative sources of upland vegetables such as Nueva Vizcaya, Laguna, and Quirino province.

Should there be any increase in prices in major trading centers, Remoquillo said this would likely be caused by the strong demand for vegetables as people return to Metro Manila after the holiday season.

“People are now returning to Metro Manila so there is a heightened demand. So if there is a slight uptick in prices, it would be because of the demand, not the frost,” she said.

She said the DA is also monitoring other vegetable cultivation areas for the occurrence of frost.

The DA is coordinating with the Department of Trade and Industry to prevent traders from making excessive profit from the phenomenon, she added.