No major damage to Benguet farms hit by frost

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet — There is no major damage in the vast vegetable farms of Benguet hit by frost.

"There is no cause for alarm," Benguet provincial agriculturist Lolita Bentrez assured farmers and local officials who expressed alarm over the damage wrought by the sudden drop in temperature recently.

Bentrez and her team of government agriculturists headed to Atok town on Friday to personally assess the situation. They said the damage is minimal and manageable.

Atok, the highest town in the province at 7,400 feet above sea level, is perhaps one of the worst hit areas when temperature went down to five degrees last Jan. 31.

Atok Mayor Connie Balao said the town suffered some P10 million in damage as some 100 hectares of potatoes, cabbages, green peas and cutflowers had wilted from the cold spell.

From an average normal temperature of 18 to 23 degrees Centigrade, Balao said Wednesday’s 5-degree weather prompted her office to push for a declaration of a state of calamity to alleviate the farmers’ plight.

However, in towns along the so-called "vegetable belt" in northern Benguet like in Buguias, Mankayan and Kibungan, farmers are merely preparing the land or harvesting, so the situation is manageable, Bentrez said to calm down fears of depleted vegetable supply.

Alarms could send wrong signals to the consuming public, the business sector and even the national government to justify importation, Bentrez claimed. "Our supply is enough," she reiterated.

Some 300-500 tons of vegetables are transported from Benguet’s vegetable farms to the La Trinidad trading post here every day. At an average of P10 per kilo, vegetable produced by Benguet average P50 million daily.

Bentrez added that there was no frost in Buguias and Mankayan towns, two other vegetable producing towns along the so-called "vegetable belt."

Balao also noted that Atok town did not have frost on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and its temperature went up to nine degrees Centigrade Sunday. Yesterday, it was 8 degrees Centigrade.

But even with frost at this time of the farming season, Bentrez said there would be minimal damage because it is harvest time.

Most of the farmers also averted the situation by washing away the frost, she added, explaining that what happened in Benguet farms were usual experiences in these areas and farmers were already implementing measures such as washing away the frost to avert damage to the vegetables due for harvest.

Bentrez also lamented it was an over statement to claim frost residue was one and one-half thick. "It was only one millimeter," she said.