Benguet center seen ‘game changer’ in vegetable trade

By Joseph Zambrano

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – The Benguet Agri Pinoy Trading Center here would be a “game changer” once it would be operational in marketing of vegetables, 75 percent of which come from the Cordillera particularly Benguet and Mountain Province.  

Allaying fears of farmers that their traditional marketing schemes would be derailed, Agriculture Sec. Proceso J. Alcala told them here the purpose of the BAPTC as a government project, was to make vegetable industry  advantageous  to  farmers in production and marketing veggies.

Farmers use at present the vegetable trading post beside the public market here where dealers and suppliers from Manila buy the veggies and sell these in Manila at high prices.

Some farmers, to maximize profit, now sell their produce directly in Manila or other lowland areas.  

Alcala said the setting up of the BAPTC would level the playing field and would be advantageous to farmers.

“The trading center is a high priority project of the Department of Agriculture, which is expected to alleviate poverty in the rural areas,” Alcala said.

The project, he added, seeks to improve farm household income through increase in farm prices.

It also seeks to benefit consumers by reducing retail prices of agriculture products like fruits and vegetables.

The multi-million BAPTC located at swamp area, Barangay Betag in this capital town, is expected to be inaugurated next month.   

Alcala also made a surprise visit to the vegetable fields along Halsema highway to see how farmers are working on their farms.

The Secretary also met vegetable farmers at the Benguet State University campus in Loo, Buguias.

The visit also saw to distribution of 2,000 coffee Arabica seedlings and distribution of 70 items each of knapsack sprayers, power sprayers, carabaos, rabbits, hand tractors, native pigs, rolls of plastic sheets for greenhouse, and other farm implements to farmers.