Manila: To prevent harvest spoilage and dropping farmgate prices, the Department of Agriculture (DA) on Monday announced the enhancement of its alerts and early warning system for the agriculture sector. Under the DA's Agricultural Marketing Assistance Service (AMAS), the mechanism is designed to project possible supply disruptions and facilitate market linkages between local farmers and buyers in advance.

According to Philippines News Agency, DA Kadiwa ng Pangulo (KNP) Head and Assistant Secretary for Agribusiness, Marketing, and Consumer Affairs Genevieve Velicaria-Guevarra explained that the strategy will provide the government with a clearer outlook. "The monitoring system will give us alerts on upcoming harvests, weather disturbances, and other developments that could affect the supply chain to help us trigger assistance earlier," she said.

The enhanced alerts aim to cover regular harvest projections, farmgate price monitoring, and triggers for logistics and other forms of assistance. Guevarra noted that this initiative will bolster the agency's planning efforts, help prevent exploitative practices by traders and middlemen, and allow the government to respond swiftly to potential supply shortages or market disruptions.

The DA-AMAS intends to maximize the benefits of the early warning system to urgently protect the income and welfare of vegetable farmers. Persistent oversupply tends to overwhelm markets, often forcing farmers to discard unsold produce along roadsides due to high transport costs. "We want to move from reacting to problems to anticipating them," Guevarra emphasized.

Moreover, the DA aims to make Kadiwa assistance more accessible to farmers, particularly those in trading centers. DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. stated that the early warning system will help bridge the gap while agricultural infrastructure is under construction.

As part of the government's long-term solution in agriculture, the setup of cold storage and vegetable processing facilities is underway to prevent spoilage of local produce. "Our long-term solution is mega cold storage and vegetable processing facilities," Tiu Laurel stated. "We have set aside funds for 2027, and those facilities will be located beside the Benguet Agri Pinoy Trading Center," he added.