Post-harvest losses of Cordillera farmers are staggering: 10 percent for cabbage and 7 percent for carrots, according to the Research, Innovation, & Sustainable Extension Center of St. Louis University (SLV).

Vegetables are disposed of in Benguet because they cannot be sold, even at low prices, Richel Lamadrid, RISE director, told corn, palay and vegetable farmers at a food upcycling seminar conducted by SLU at the Local Government Unit Gymnasium Hall in San Quintin, Pangasinan last 10 April.

Lamadrid proposed food upcycling — the process of converting food waste or byproducts into new, high-value products — as a solution. Farmers can do pickling or turning unsold cabbage into kimchi or “cabbage crinkles,” he said.