DA-7: Taal eruption won’t affect supply of agricultural products in Cebu

Barangay Mantalongon in Dalaguete town is one of the sources of vegetables in the province of Cebu. | CDN file photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The supply of agricultural products, such as fruits, vegetables and livestock, in Cebu will not be affected with the eruption and emission of ash plumes of Taal Volcano in Batangas in Luzon.

Earlier, the Department of Agriculture (DA) reported a P577.59 million damage in agriculture in some areas in Batangas that were affected by Taal Volcano’s eruption.

Affected commodities include rice, corn, coffee, cacao, banana, and high-value crops.

DA-7 Information Officer Melquiades Ibarra, however, assured the public that agricultural supplies in Cebu would not be affected with the calamity, especially that agriculture products in the province would be sourced locally, and in some areas in Mindanao.

“So wala gyud kaayo ta’y impact anang sa Taal nga pagbuto. Galibot-libot, local domestic, I mean naa ra diri sa atoa ba ang supply sa vegetable, unya Mindanao,” Ibarra said.

(So the eruption of Taal volcano would not have any impact on agricultural supply because our sources for vegetables are local and there’s Mindanao.)

Ibarra even said that the region was the one supplying agriculture products to Luzon.

“Pero gamay ra kaayo na nga portion kay sa atoa diri, kulangon paman gani na,” he added.

(But it’s only a small portion because our supply is not enough enough for the region.)

He said that vegetables in Carbon Public Market were coming from the municipality of Dalaguete, while Masbate City in Negros Oriental was the major producer of livestock products in the region.

Aside from this, based on their monitoring in different public markets in the province, the agency had not observed any movements in the price of agricultural products.

If there were movements in the price, Ibarra said this was not due to Taal Volcano’s eruption, but due to other factors.

“Maybe tungod kay bag-o rata nahuman sa selebrasyon sa Pasko ug bag-ong tuig, or tungod kay magsaulog ta sa Fiesta Señor,” he said.

(Maybe, this is because we have just finished celebrating Christmas and the New Year or because we are celebrating the Fiesta Señor.)/dbs