Despite the infestation of armyworms in some farms, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said the price of onion went down by P20 per kilo because of the additional planting of arable lands.
The agriculture department had earlier reported that several farms cultivating onions had been hit by armyworm infestation.
“Patuloy na bumababa ang presyo ng sibuyas. In fact, bumaba ng P20 ang presyo ng sibuyas from P100 per kilo last week – ito ‘yung red, iyong pula at saka iyong puti – ngayon ay nasa otsenta na lang or P80 (The price of onion continues to decrease. In fact, the price of onions dropped by P20 from P100 per kilo last week - the red one, the red ones and then the white oneS - now it's only around P80),” Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa, the spokesperson of the DA, said during a televised public briefing on Friday, March 15.
Based on the price monitoring of the DA last March 15, local red onion ranges from P60 to P120 a kilo in Metro Manila markets. Meanwhile, local white onion is retailed for P50 to P120 per kilo.
De Mesa stated that over 10,300 hectares have been planted with onions this year, noting that such is a 70 percent increase from 7,000 hectares in 2023.
He admitted that armyworms, locally known as “harabas”, had an effect on the production of onion but said that it only had minimal effect.
According to the DA spokesperson, around 17.8 hectares of onion farms have been “totally damaged” so far.
“Base sa datos na ito ay hindi pa ganoon kalaki iyong na-damage bagama’t patuloy iyong ating tinatawag na monitoring at iyong ating Regional Crop Protection Center ay nakikipag-ugnayan sa ating mga magsisibuyas para siguraduhin na tulungan sila na hindi lumala iyong epekto ng harabas (Based on this data, the damage has not been that great, although what we call monitoring continues and our Regional Crop Protection Center is in contact with our farmers to make sure that we help them so that the effects of the army worse do not get worse),” said De Mesa.
When asked about the suggestion made by Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food, Inc. (PCAFI) President Danny Fausto to import onions as a response to the armyworm infestation, the DA spokesperson said the agency is currently in the process of evaluating the recommendation put forth by the agricultural group.
“Sa ngayon ay patuloy pa rin iyong harvest – iyong peak ng harvest ng sibuyas ay itong buwan ng Marso hanggang April (Right now the harvest is still ongoing– the peak of the onion harvest is from March to April),” he said.
In January, Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) Director Gerald Glenn Panganiban reported that 366 hectares out of the 10,217 hectares of farmland dedicated to onion cultivation in Nueva Ecija and Tarlac had been affected by armyworm infestation
He pointed out that only crops on 6.9 hectares of the affected areas suffered complete damage, whereas 359.1 hectares experienced partial damage.
The agriculture department said armyworms are destructive pests that got their names from their army-like movement in agricultural fields.
“They usually consume turf grass but would eat any vegetation in their path,” it said.
Armyworms can be controlled using neem oil-based sprays or with biological controls like earwigs, spiders, and predatory wasps, the DA said.
Since December, according to Panganiban, the High Value Crops Development Program of the DA has provided 2.07 tons of onion seeds worth P30.4 million to farm areas in Central Luzon while BPI and the Regional Crop Protection Center have distributed pheromone lures, neem oil-based insecticides and technical assistance to affected onion growers.
“An additional 1.3 tons of red and white onion seeds worth P20.3 million and four cold storage for onions valued at P168 million will also be provided to onion-producing areas,” the BPI stated, adding that local governments have also vowed to purchase more organic insecticides and pheromone lures to deal with armyworms.