Over P100 million worth assistance were provided to onion farmers as the national government pushes to stabilize its local production, the Department of Agriculture (DA) disclosed on Tuesday, Sept. 13.
In a statement, the DA said the assistance package was in a form of interventions to improve productivity and ensure that onion farmers’ cooperatives and associations (FCAs) will have ready markets for their produce.
The agriculture department’s recently published Philippine Onion Industry Roadmap 2021-2025 said the country needs to increase onion production from 229,539 metric tons to 279,270 metric tons in five years by increasing area planted and productivity to achieve self-sufficiency.
The DA High-Value Crops Development Program (HVCDP) said it has set aside P47.48 million for production support services such as seedlings and fertilizers for onion-growing areas in 2022.
The HVCDP also established and distributed onion production and post-harvest facilities, irrigation network services, and farm production machinery and equipment with a fund of P35.673 million.
In addition, the program funded a package of P1.4 million in technology training and P10.048 million in onion production research activities.
Through the Enhanced Kadiwa Financial Grant in 2021, the DA-Agribusiness and Selling Assistance Service (AMAS) also gave FCAs engaged in the production and marketing of onions delivery trucks and hauling vans worth P6.1 million. The subsidy provided access to 60 new markets for the produce of the FCAs and at least 6,000 farmer members, the DA noted.
As such, the DA-AMAS said that as of Aug. 28, it has already linked numerous FCAs with significant customers for the delivery of around 82,442 kg of red, yellow, and white onions as well as shallots valued at P3.228 million since February of this year.