BAGUIO CITY—Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. on Wednesday, April 1, met with vegetable farmers, truckers, and local officials from Benguet, Tinoc, Ifugao and Bauko, Mountain Province, to confront surging fuel prices that are driving up transport costs, squeezing farm incomes, and threatening vegetable supply and prices.
The dialogue at the Benguet Agri-Pinoy Trading Center focused on mounting logistical pressures linked to rising global oil prices amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, and the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) planned response.
For immediate relief, the DA has deployed existing DA managed trucks and coordination with FCA and LGU managed trucks, to haul vegetables from farms to trading posts or to markets directly, with fuel expenses covered by the agency. ### (Photos by Darrel Gultia, DA-OSEC Comms)
