- The Philippines is looking to strengthen its market early-warning system
- The planned system aims to help authorities act earlier
- Longer-term fixes will focus on infrastructure and market linkages
In recent weeks, the province of Benguet experienced persistent rains, leading to market constraints.
In one case, a farmer disposed of his produce after a long wait in the damp environment caused his produce to start rotting.
In another case, a farmer dumped 3.1 tonnes of produce after failing to sell it at a local market.
The two documented cases resulted in total losses of around 5.8 tonnes of vegetables.
These losses exposed vulnerabilities in the country’s highland vegetable supply chain.
They underscored the need for faster logistics, stronger market linkages and coordinated support programmes for farmers facing climate and market challenges.
Moving into action
This prompted the DA to announce an initiative to improve its market early-warning system to get ahead of supply disruptions.
With a better monitoring system, government agencies will have clearer visibility of harvest volumes, weather-related risks and market developments.
“We want to move from reacting to problems to anticipating them. The monitoring system will give us alerts on upcoming harvests, weather disturbances, and other developments that could affect the supply chain to help us trigger assistance earlier,” said Genevieve E. Velicaria-Guevarra, Assistant Secretary for Agribusiness, Marketing, and Consumer Affairs.
The system will generate regular harvest projections and provide timelier farmgate price monitoring, allowing authorities to intervene before supply gluts worsen.
It is also expected to trigger alerts for logistics support and other forms of government assistance when market disruptions emerge.
This planned early-warning system is meant to serve as a stopgap until more significant infrastructure fixes are in place, such as mega cold storage and vegetable processing facilities.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. said such infrastructure would be crucial to tackling the oversupply problem.
“What happened in Benguet this year may also be called force majeure, with excessive rain hobbling the supply chain. Our long-term solution is mega cold storage and vegetable processing facilities. We have set aside funds for 2027, and those facilities will be located beside the Benguet Agri Pinoy Trading Center.”
Long-term plans
While congress deliberates on the proposed 2027 budget, Tiu Laurel said the DA was pursuing interim measures to expand storage capacity.
This included rehabilitating existing cold storage facilities and deploying smaller units ahead of the completion of the larger projects.
At the same time, Guevarra intends to raise awareness of KADIWA, a government market linkage programme.
The DA also aims to strengthen coordination with government agencies that can serve as institutional buyers for vegetables, particularly during periods of oversupply.
Officials believe stronger inter-agency coordination could create alternative outlets for excess produce and reduce farmers’ dependence on already congested trading centres.
