Antique rice farmers urged to shift to high-value crops

Farmers in Antique must prioritize high-value crops (HVCs) such as onion and garlic to prevent shortages and normalize prices.

A resolution was passed during the provincial council session on Monday, January 30, amid the “widely disturbing news of an overwhelming price increase in the market for two HVCs.”

“As observed during the past years, the prices of these crops are stable, there was a shortage because of lack of cold storage facilities, and it may be because of hoarding by some traders taking advantage of the abnormal situation such that the government has no recourse but to resort to importation to remedy and meet the demands in the market,” board member Rony Molina said.

Planting HVC is a better remedy than importation, which is disadvantageous to farmers, he added.

In a later interview, he said the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist must teach planting technology to farmers.

“Most farmers are into planting rice rather than the HVC in Antique because they do not know the technology,” he said.

Ronald Ardeño, a 34-year-old farmer from Belison town’s Barangay Sinaja, said he earns more from growing onions than rice.

“I was able to earn around P20,000 from the one-fourth hectare that I planted with onions,” he said in an interview.

He said he only earned P12,000 during the rice harvest.

With the onions, the farm gate price was P80 per kilogram and harvest came after three months.

“I am now again doing land preparation so I can plant onions,” he said. (PNA)