DA sets up P20-M vegetable processing facility in Benguet

June 28, 2020 Metro BLISTT

BAGUIO CITY – The Department of Agriculture (DA) has released PHP20 million for the setup of a vegetable processing facility in Benguet.
“The PHP10 million will be used for the structure and the PHP10 million will be for the equipment,” DA Secretary William Dar said.
Dar announced Friday the release of the amount to the Benguet State University (BSU) for setting up the facility that will address the decades long problem of vegetables being discarded because they are not bought and are left to rot.
“Ang mga itinatapon na mga gulay na napapanood natin, mawawala na po yun. Maaari na tayong mag-process ng mga gulay natin (the incidence of vegetables being thrown will no longer happen because we will start processing them),” he said.
The BSU main campus is located in La Trinidad — the provincial capital — where the government-owned and several other private vegetable trading facilities are located. Vegetables from the farms are brought to the trading posts before they are transported to Metro Manila and other parts of the country.
Dar said the Benguet Agripinoy Trading Center (BAPTC), which is jointly owned by the DA, BSU and the provincial government, has been tasked to become the “buyer of last resort” for vegetables which are not traded and will be responsible for selling or processing them.
“We had a BAPTC board meeting and we agreed to make the BAPTC the buyer of last resort kung saan pag walang buyer, walang consolidator, sila na ang bumili (if there is no buyer, no consolidator, they will buy),” he said.
Dar instructed BSU officials that the repair and retrofitting be started immediately to be able to have the facility in place.
Cordillera produces 85 percent of the country’s supply of highland vegetables, with 65 percent coming from Benguet while the rest are produced in Mountain Province and Ifugao.
(PNA)