MANILA - Senatorial aspirant Manny Piñol on Wednesday said farmers are on the losing end despite lower priced vegetables because of the present marketing system in the country.

"Mas mura ang lokal na gulay kaysa imported na gulay, mas sariwa. Our problem in the country is our marketing system where from the farmgate to the kitchen of the Filipino families, mga 10 kamay ang dinadaanan ng ating mga produkto. Ang carrots P10 in Bukidnon. Pagdating sa kusina ng pamilyang Pilipino, umaabot ng P100," Piñol said on ANC's Headstart.

(Local vegetables are cheaper and more fresh. Our problem in the country is our marketing system where from the farmgate to the kitchen of the Filipino families, the product goes through 10 hands. Carrots in Bukidnon cost P10 and arrive at the kitchen of Filipino families at P100.)

A group of vegetable traders earlier said Benguet farmers are losing P2.5 million daily due to vegetable smuggling, with some farmers being forced to throw away their products because no one is buying.

“The farmers are running out of capitalization and with this smuggling, we’re actually, the farmers are actually throwing away, basically throwing away ¼ to ½ of their harvest, because it is not being bought, specially the medium-sized carrots. They are not being bought, they are being given for reliefs only,” Agot Balanoy of the League of Associations at the La Trinidad Vegetable Trading Areas explained.

• Benguet farmers losing P2.5M daily due to smuggling: traders

Balanoy said more businessmen are buying smuggled carrots from China because they have a longer shelf life of about 2 months. “Our carrots, just for 2-3 days, the carrots would already start to rot,” she said.

Agriculture Assistant Secretary Noel Reyes also said that imported carrots are bigger than the ones produced by Filipino farmers. He stressed, however, that smuggling is prohibited by the law.

Piñol, a former agriculture secretary, said he wants to rush the digitalization of the Bureau of Customs' operations and correct the Philippines' marketing system "so the products of our farmers could compete price-wise with international products."

He said he would push for the amendment of the Rice Tariffication Law and the improvement of the local importing system.

Piñol said government needs to "bring back the NFA (National Food Authority) into the picture."

"I don't understand how an important commodity like rice would be given to the private sector na alam naman natin from the very beginning na ito ay rice cartel (that we know from the very beginning is a rice cartel)," he said.

"Without NFA, walang supervisory atsaka regulatory power ang government over a very important commodity like rice."

Piñol added that he would prioritize the Department of Agriculture's budget if he becomes senator.

"Pag kakapusin tayo ng pagkain mahihirapan tayo (We will find it difficult if we don't have enough food). This country cannot survive if we don't have food. Agriculture and fisheries should be placed in the top 3 of our budgetary priorities," he said.

BACKING LACSON

The former PDP-Laban member said he would still support presidential candidate Senator Panfilo Lacson, who recently went independent after his party Partido Reporma backed Vice President Leni Robredo's bid.

• Piñol quits Duterte party, Cabinet; to run for senator
• Robredo gets backing of Partido Reporma after Lacson exit

"Yes it’s different, kulang sa pondo, sa network sa baba but you know ang paniwala ko sa politika is not joining who’s leading, it’s joining who’s on the right track," he said.

(Yes it’s different, here's no enough funds, network on the ground but you my belief in politic is not joining who’s leading, it’s joining who’s on the right track.)

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