The Department of Agriculture (DA) is boosting its market early-warning system to help the vegetable industry get ahead of seasonal gluts that can drive down farmgate prices, leave produce unsold, and turn bumper harvests into losses for farmers.

The agency said Monday that the system will track upcoming harvests, weather disturbances, and other developments that could disrupt the supply chain, allowing the government to connect farmers with buyers and deploy assistance before markets become saturated.

Genevieve E. Velicaria-Guevarra, Assistant Secretary for Agribusiness, Marketing and Consumer Affairs and head of KADIWA ng Pangulo, said the system would complement regional help desks by giving the government a clearer picture of what is moving through the farm-to-market pipeline.

“We want to move from reacting to problems to anticipating them,” Guevarra said. “The monitoring system will give us alerts on upcoming harvests, weather disturbances, and other developments that could affect the supply chain to help us trigger assistance earlier.”

Regular harvest projections are expected to improve planning, while more transparent and timely monitoring of farmgate prices could help curb market abuses by middlemen.

The system would also trigger alerts for logistics and other assistance, allowing the government to respond more quickly to emerging supply and market disruptions.

The initiative builds on the DA’s emergency procurement during the height of the Middle East conflict, when the department moved to keep agricultural products flowing to markets despite disruptions caused by a sudden increase in logistics costs.

The DA also plans to intensify its information campaign to make KADIWA assistance more accessible to farmers, particularly those operating in trading centers.

At the same time, the department is looking to strengthen coordination with other government agencies that could serve as ready markets for highland vegetables.

The problem is particularly acute for vegetables, where seasonal harvest surges can quickly overwhelm markets.

Persistent oversupply has at times forced farmers to dump unsold vegetables along roadsides rather than shoulder transportation costs for produce that may not fetch enough to cover expenses.

Farmers who have already spent on seeds, fertilizer, labor and transportation can therefore see a bumper harvest turn into a financial loss when supply exceeds demand.

The early-warning system is intended to serve as a bridge until longer-term infrastructure becomes available, including mega cold storage and vegetable processing facilities that Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. considers crucial to addressing oversupply.

“What happened in Benguet this year may also be called force majeure, with excessive rain hobbling the supply chain,” Tiu Laurel said.

“Our long-term solution is mega cold storage and vegetable processing facilities. We have set aside funds for 2027, and those facilities will be located beside the Benguet Agri Pinoy Trading Center.”

While Congress discusses the proposed 2027 funding, Tiu Laurel said the DA is pursuing interim measures, including rehabilitating existing cold storage facilities and installing smaller units to add capacity before the larger facilities become operational.