LA TRINIDAD, Benguet — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday during a visit at the Benguet Agri-Pinoy Trading Center vowed to accelerate government efforts aimed at shielding Cordillera farmers from the twin pressures of an ongoing energy crisis and rising logistics costs.
The visit comes as the administration speeds – up both emergency relief and long-term infrastructure investments to stabilize the region’s agricultural output.
Accompanied by Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., the president emphasized the need to protect the supply chains that move high-value highland crops to the rest of the country.
Laurel warned that current disruptions in vegetable transport are beginning to threaten the livelihoods of local producers and the food security of major urban centers, including Metro Manila.
The trading center serves as a critical economic engine for the region, moving approximately 165,000 tons of produce annually with an estimated value of 6.4 billion pesos. On a typical day, the facility connects more than 110 farmers to buyers, facilitating the distribution of staples such as cabbage, carrots, potatoes, and broccoli.
However, the surge in fuel prices has severely strained this network, forcing some farmers to delay harvests or risk spoilage as they wait for wholesale prices that can cover their increased overhead.
In response to these bottlenecks, Marcos directed the Department of Agriculture to deploy government trucks to haul produce directly from farms to trading hubs. This logistics intervention is intended to bypass market hurdles and prevent post-harvest losses.
As of mid-April, the department has facilitated the sale of nearly 28 metric tons of vegetables, with another 57 metric tons scheduled for delivery to various markets across the Philippines.
During the inspection, the president oversaw the distribution of P15.4 million in production inputs, machinery, and trading capital to 45 farmer cooperatives and associations.
The assistance is a portion of a larger P859.6 million allocation for the Cordillera Administrative Region in 2026.
This broader funding package is designed to provide seeds, fertilizers, irrigation support, and post-harvest equipment to more than 1,300 agricultural groups and 3,700 individuals.
Despite these measures, the agricultural sector continues to face significant headwinds.
Fertilizer prices have spiked, and inter-island shipping costs have increased by as much as P10 per kilogram, with the increase leading to a noticeable decline in the presence of wholesale buyers, slowing down trading activity at the La Trinidad facility.
Laurel noted that the productivity of Benguet farmers remains essential to the national food system, supplying everyone from wet market consumers to large-scale institutional buyers and restaurants. He stated that sustaining market access for these highland producers is a top government priority because any disruption in the Cordilleras is felt throughout the entire national supply chain.
Moving forward, government officials said that continued investments in the trading center’s infrastructure and more efficient market matching systems will be the primary strategy for stabilizing food supplies and protecting farmer incomes against volatile global energy prices. NLMonitor