DA to help Ecija tomato farmers

CABANATUAN CITY, Nueva Ecija — The Department of Agriculture (DA) has assured the tomato farmers of Nueva Ecija and Pangasinan of help from having too much supply for tomatoes.

In this regard, the farmers cited that they will throw away their excess harvest since some traders are haggling farmers to sell their supply to P4 per kilo, very much lower than the farm gate price.

According to DA spokesperson Arnel de Mesa, tomato farmers should coordinate with the local and regional agricultural offices to help them bring their products to the market.

These agricultural offices can help find these farmers a market they can sell their excess supplies of tomatoes or to be sold at Kadiwa stores.

The DA is currently doing everything it can to construct more cold storage facilities to ensure that these excess supplies of tomatoes spoil.

The DA has currently allocated P1.5 billion for the creation of more cold storage facilities that will help tomato farmers.