DA eyes boosting cheaper food’s entry into MM

FILE: The recently launched Bohol Fish Market under the Department of Agriculture’s TienDA marketing program for farmers, fishermen, and consumers (Photo by Manny Piniol Official FB via PNA)

MANILA — The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Friday bared plans to flood Metro Manila with lower-priced locally-grown agricultural produce to make food affordable and to counter profiteering.

The department plans to open TienDA Malasakit stores in the metropolis’ highly populated areas, such as Barangay Payatas.

The high prices of food items in Metro Manila do not indicate supply shortage but are due to traders’ manipulation so the DA will flood the market, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said on the sidelines of the two-day TienDA Malasakit outlet’s opening at the Bureau of Plant Industry’s (BPI) central office in Manila.

“The price rise is artificial,” Piñol said, adding that increasing the entry of cheaper agricultural produce from various provinces would ease spiraling food costs in the National Capital Region.

TienDA Malasakit outlets will be open on Fridays and Saturdays until prices in the market stabilize, he also said on Facebook this week.

The Cordillera region, a traditional source of vegetables for Metro Manila, was among the areas in northern Luzon that were battered by Typhoon Ompong.

Profiteers are taking advantage of the damage “Ompong” caused in northern Luzon by jacking up prices of food produced there and sold in Metro Manila and other locations, Piñol said.

“The government won’t allow profiteering to persist”, he added.

Earlier, private company PSI Air offered the use of its cargo plane to bring in agricultural produce to markets like Metro Manila.

The offer will help make food more affordable to the public, Piñol said.

TienDA, a marketing strategy launched by the DA in Metro Manila last year, aims to promote availability of affordable food nationwide by providing TienDA outlets, where farmers and fishers can directly sell their produce to consumers.

Sold at the BPI TienDA Malasakit outlet were carrots, sayote, potatoes and other vegetables, along with fruits, and fisheries produce from various provinces.

The vegetables sold there were sourced from Bukidnon province’s Impasugong, Talakag, Sumilao and Lantapan (IMTASULA) towns.

Piñol noted that vegetables in such towns are so cheap that even if transported to Metro Manila, these can still sell at prices lower than what’s prevailing in the urban center.