Nueva Ecija solon calls onion importation moratorium 'very good news'
At A Glance
- Nueva Ecija 3rd district Rep. Ria Vergara has described as "very good news" the Department of Agriculture's (DA) recent decision to impose a moratorium on the importation of onions.
Onions (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)
A congresswoman from major onion producer Nueva Ecija has described as "very good news" the Department of Agriculture's (DA) recent decision to impose a moratorium on the importation of onions.
At the same time, Nueva Ecija 3rd district Rep. Ria Vergara advised agriculture officials to take a close look at the local production numbers for the commodity.
"This is very good news because by end of February, farmers will start to harvest onions. Dapat tignan muna ng DA ang production natin, bago mag import (The DA should look at our production numbers first before deciding to import)," Vergara said on Monday, Jan. 22.
Referring to the moratorium, the lady solon said: "Natutuwa ako sa balitang ito (I'm delighted by this news."
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Vergara, chairperson of the House Committee on Social Services, spoke on the adverse effects of poorly timed importation.
"Bringing in the cheap imported onions while we are harvesting will lower the buying price of the traders to farmers."
Nueva Ecija is among the top producers of onions in the country.
"Dapat palakasin natin ang ating onion industry (We must strengthen our onion industry), and our food security. We should only import pag kulang ang ating (if there is a shortage in) locally produced onions," Vergara said.