BAGUIO CITY, Benguet —The Department of Agriculture (DA) said frost caused by plunging temperature in the Cordillera region caused negligible damage to vegetable plants but officials advised farmers on Wednesday to take precautions because of worsening weather condition.
Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala advise farmers to use frost-tolerant seed varieties and to sprinkle the plants with water in the morning to prevent wilting of leaves due to frost.
“Government interventions such as irrigation and protective production facilities have helped the farmers adapt to the phenomenon and reduced the direct impact of frost. The provision of frost-tolerant seed varieties has also aided the farmers to replant their farms and recover their loses,” Alcala said.
Frosting, locally known as andap, refers to the moisture on plants that turn into ice crystals. When not cleaned with water, the plants wilt and die as the sun melts the ice deposits.
To help the farmers, the DA provided them UV-treated plastic sheets for rain shelters and greenhouses where they could cultivate plants even under harsh weather conditions. The agency also constructed water impounding facilities and provided them water tanks so farmers have easy access to water to clean the plants.
Alcala said the regional field office has been closely watching the vegetable producing areas such as Atok, Kibungan, Buguias and Mankayan in Benguet and the town of Bauko in Mountain Province.
Alcala assured the public the supply of vegetables from the Cordilleras remain stable but if the situation become worse they were prepared to turn to alternative sources of vegetables like Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino.
As the temperature dipped during the yuletide season, about two million local and foreign tourists made their way to Baguio to enjoy the cold weather and infused about P5 billion to the local economy.
Anthony de Leon, president of the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Baguio (HRAB), said the estimated revenue was based on arrival volume with each tourist spending about P2,500 each.
“The number of tourists estimated by stakeholders in the transport and police sectors were for the entire duration of the holidays spanning almost two weeks,” De Leon said.
He said the opening of the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway and the Baguio-La Trinidad-Itogon-Sablan-Tuba-Tublay areas contributed to the deluge of tourists to the city.
“The road opening has made the trip to the Summer Capital a quick four hours or less, granting there are no traffic hurdles on the way,” De Leon said.