ORMOC CITY, Philippines – “I will never look at vegetables the same way again.”
Thus said Rep. Lucy Torres-Gomez as she described her “humbling” experience with the vegetable farmers of Barangay Cabingtan here, when she visited them for the inauguration of her tramline project last Aug. 23.
The simple but “life changing” project for the needy, according to her, has again strengthened her resolve to give her best to serve her constituents.
Barangay Cabingtan is one of Ormoc’s vegetable-producing villages situated in the highlands. There, she said, she came to know what farmers have to go through before cabbages, carrots, tomatoes and other products reach the tables of many homes.
She said she never realized how a simple, almost primitive technology could give hope to vegetable farmers for a better life.
The farmers told Torres-Gomez that before the tramline, they would bring down their produce the traditional way – either by carrying these on their backs in wicker baskets or transporting these through carabao-drawn carts.
The latter method though bruises the vegetables more, bringing down their prices. The former method preserves the quality of the vegetables, but proves tiring to the farmers, leaving them with little energy to haggle with middlemen.
While they could bring their produce to the market to sell these directly to consumers, the prospect of not being able to sell all their produce in a day is another problem.
This forces them to stay overnight in the market where they could be mugged and their earnings stolen from them.
Either way, they told Torres-Gomez, they are “kanunay alkanse (always on the losing end).”
But the tramline, they said, gives them hope, as vegetables brought down in good shape command better prices and can be kept fresh longer.
In her brief speech, Torres-Gomez thanked the vegetable farmers for their warm welcome, saying her visit made her realize that there is a different world than what she has been used to, and that it was an eye-opener for her.
She said she would never look at vegetables the same way again because she would always remember that behind a cabbage leaf is a story of the backbreaking work of a farmer.
She told the farmers that she hoped that the tramline, a project she got from the Department of Agriculture and implemented through the Department of Public Works and Highways, would somehow ease their lives and make a difference.
She also asked them to use the tramline well, maintain it, and report any slightest sign of wear and tear that needs repair.