Andap Scares Farmers of Little Alaska, Other Benguet Towns

The meningococcemia scare has left Baguio City’s public market and other vegetable outlets with a few buyers. But there’s another shock that’s bound to make thousands of vegetable growers poorer: andap or “vegetable frost.”

By Johnny Fialen
Northern Dispatch
Posted by Bulatlat

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – The meningococcemia scare has left Baguio City’s public market and other vegetable outlets with a few buyers. But there’s another shock that’s bound to make thousands of vegetable growers poorer: andap or “vegetable frost.” Worker unloads potatoes  from truck, Baguio City Photo from www.cpaphils.org

Already burdened by the continued dumping of cheap vegetable imports that has pushed down prices of highland viands, farmers of Benguet province in northern Philippines now have to contend with the vegetable frost. Reports said andap has destroyed P46-P50 million worth of vegetables in Benguet alone.

Andap usually occurs during November to February, the coldest months of the year in the Cordillera mountain ranges. The frost leaves vegetables particularly their leaves wrinkled and burnt leading to stagnation and eventual “death.” Vegetables and root crops mostly affected are cabbage, garden pea, potato, radish, and wombok, a type of pechay. The vegetable valley’s popular but expensive cutflower is also affected.

Benguet agriculturists say that four towns have been declared in a state of calamity due to the vegetable frost: Benguet’s “Little Alaska” or Atok (which has recorded a loss of P20 million worth of destroyed crops); Kibungan  (P17 million); Buguias (more than P5 million); and Mankayan (more than P3 million). Other towns like Bokod and Kabayan have also been reportedly affected but no report has been submitted to the Benguet agriculturists.

As a result, the decrease in production has pumped up the prices of highland vegetables: garden peas now sell for P60-P85 a kilo; carrots, P10-P25 a kilo; and potatoes P15-P25 a kilo.

Prompted by the reports, the Department of Agriculture (DA) plans to give free vegetable seeds and sprinklers to farmers of the four municipalities. Carrot, garden pea, cabbage, radish, potato and cutflower seeds will be distributed.

Nothing

John Kim, Benguet board member, last week said however that farmers could do nothing about the vegetable frost because it is a global cycle. He said only 6.8 percent of Benguet’s entire vegetable production is damaged by the frost. He also warned that the destruction could be used by some authorities to justify more vegetable importation.

Kim also added that Benguet Gov. Borromeo Melchor and the provincial government will help minimize frost damage to vegetables by encouraging farmers to build more greenhouses.

In an interview, farmers Reynaldo Abalos,33, of Atok, Benguet and Candido Pilapil, 48, of Natubleng, Benguet, said frost is a big problem to them during the cold season because it really reduces the quality and  production of vegetables in Benguet.

”Awan ti maaramidan dagiti farmers iti daytoy a problema gapu ta natural a pasamak  ken talaga nga bumassit ti produksyon gapu ta adu ti matay ken saan da nga makadakkel” (Farmers cannot do anything with frost because it is a natural cause and the production is really affected because vegetables are stunted and many die due to too much cold.)

“Little Alaska”

Abalos and Pilapil also said that every year, Atok registers the biggest crop damages due to andap as it is located at the highest point in Halsema in Benguet. “Talaga nga nalammin ket saan nga makaya met siguro dagiti mula ken uray dagiti tao ket rumuar da laeng no mga alas nuwebe wenno alas dyes ti agsapa, ngem tallo ti sweater da ken sabali pay diay ules nga nakabalkot ti bagi da. Isu nga kunada nga little Alaska kano” (It’s really very cold and plants cannot endure it. Residents go out between 9 or 10 in the morning wearing three jackets and a blanket wrapped around them. That’s why Atok is called little Alaska), Abalos said.    

Meanwhile, Mila Lingbawan and Virgie Bandao of the Alyansa Dagiti Pesante iti Taeng Kordilyera (APIT-TAKO, a farmers alliance), vegetable frost is one reason why farmers go bankrupt. They demanded that the government should subsidize farmers in terms of new technology in agriculture, irrigation system, farm to market roads and other services so that in times of calamity farmers are not hard up on finance.

The APIT-TAKO members also said the government should first solve the issue of crop importation that is flooding the country’s markets and pull out from the agreement on agriculture of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to save the country’s farmers. NORDIS / Posted by Bulatlat          

BACK TO TOP ■  PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION  ■   COMMENT

© 2004 Bulatlat ■  Alipato Publications

Permission is granted to reprint or redistribute this article, provided its author/s and Bulatlat are properly credited and notified.