MANILA, Philippines – In Benguet, vegetables were left to rot on the road as truckloads of crops were turned down because of their low prices. This caused farmers to have an excessive amount of crops.
Despite the rising prices of goods in the market, farmers sold their crops for as low as P5 per kilo, just so they could break even and prevent their crops from going to waste.
A number of farmers even resorted to Facebook to try and get buyers for their vegetables.
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Don Pulubi, a farmer for 20 years from Nueva Ecija, took to Facebook to sell his pumpkins for just P6 per kilo, from the usual P12 to P16.
Despite the pumpkin's slashed prices, Pulubi said only a few people bought from him and they still complained about the price.
“Six pesos na nga lang, 'yung iba namamahalan pa rin. Talo talaga kami,” said Pulubi. (It’s just P6, but other people still think it’s expensive. We’re really on the losing end here.)
The heartbreaking drop of prices gained a lot of attention from netizens, as they shared calls for support from the public and the government through #StandWithFarmers.
Netizens were saddened and furious to see local farmers resort to selling their harvests at deep discounts despite the hard work they put into growing them. With the Philippines being an agricultural country, they also pointed out the irony in how farmers are being treated.
{source}<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="tl" dir="ltr">Sobrang sakit lang sa puso basahin yung mga post nila huhu <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StandWithFarmers?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StandWithFarmers</a> <a href="https://t.co/FGkWSCAvoh">pic.twitter.com/FGkWSCAvoh</a></p>— Kat! #ResistCrackdown (@katongbascon) <a href="https://twitter.com/katongbascon/status/1085025350931730432?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 15, 2019</a></blockquote>
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{source}<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This is the heartbreaking reality that our farmers have been enduring for so long. It’s ironic that the PH is neglecting the very industry where it’s most likely to thrive. Markets line the pockets of capitalists instead of compensating for the hardwork of workers & farmers. <a href="https://t.co/zayobdAsRx">https://t.co/zayobdAsRx</a></p>— gian c. #OustDuterte (@gianconel) <a href="https://twitter.com/gianconel/status/1085072161662853121?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 15, 2019</a></blockquote>
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{source}<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="tl" dir="ltr">Sino nga ba ang magtutulungan kung hindi tayo mga Pilipino. Suportahan ang lokal na ekonomiya ng ating mga magsasakang Pilipino!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StandWithFarmers?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StandWithFarmers</a></p>—(@_ColonelGeneral) <a href="https://twitter.com/_ColonelGeneral/status/1085426570104164352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 16, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Some asked government and establishments to help local farmers and stop importing crops from other countries. Others also suggested empowering agricultural sectors by patronizing Philippine products.
{source}<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">would it be great if we are going to support local farmers? PH government, let us not waste our farmers’ efforts by prioritizing local rather than importing <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StandWithFarmers?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StandWithFarmers</a></p>— HL (@guevarrahl) <a href="https://twitter.com/guevarrahl/status/1085378503636332545?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 16, 2019</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">It's haunting to see them pleading for people to buy their produce at unreasonably low prices just so their hard grown crops don't go to waste. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StandWithFarmers?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StandWithFarmers</a></p>— Rivaille (@rivaillekim) <a href="https://twitter.com/rivaillekim/status/1085189197554536449?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 15, 2019</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The PH has rich cuisines and restaurants are everywhere, imagine if these establishments would purchase their raw material from local producers, then they could already be helping the filipinoes and they still make money <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StandWithFarmers?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StandWithFarmers</a></p>— broke™ (@fayedchvz) <a href="https://twitter.com/fayedchvz/status/1085170801043632128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 15, 2019</a></blockquote>
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With the vast amount of agricultural products the Philippines has, other netizens hoped the government would intervene, so no crops would go to waste. They also mentioned that the government can up efforts to support farmers.
{source}<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="tl" dir="ltr">it's so sad na binabasura lang ng gobyerno yung mga pananim ng local farmers. mababa na nga yung sahod nila (minsan wala pang bayad sa kanila o kaya naman NINE PESOS / 15 DAYS lang yung nakukuha nila sa pagtatanim), wala pa silang kita tapos ibabasura lang. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StandWithFarmers?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StandWithFarmers</a></p>— gelalalalalalalalalalalalalala (@angelaaaareyes) <a href="https://twitter.com/angelaaaareyes/status/1085120077052039170?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 15, 2019</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="tl" dir="ltr">sana mas i-value pa ng government ang farmers :( hindi biro ang magprovide ng needs sa mga tao 24/7 tapos needs man lang mga farmers hindi nila narereceive <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StandWithFarmers?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StandWithFarmers</a></p>— パト is takin exams (@officialCB97) <a href="https://twitter.com/officialCB97/status/1085191026807951362?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 15, 2019</a></blockquote>
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{source}<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The economy of Philippines would probably boom if the Governmet takes an action on the core of our country’s success which is agriculture <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StandWithFarmers?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StandWithFarmers</a></p>— YoonWoo (@YoonWoo20) <a href="https://twitter.com/YoonWoo20/status/1085467080743215105?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 16, 2019</a></blockquote>
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What do you think about the situation? Share your thoughts with us! – Rappler.com
Jaira Krishelle Balboa is a Rappler intern. She is a 4th year BA Journalism student at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.