09/05/2026
One of the most effective ways to support our local farmers and address the oversupply of vegetables is simple: we must prioritize our own.
By choosing local and stopping the importation of produce that we can (and do) grow right here, we secure the future of our farming communities. Let’s grow together.
Thank you, Councilor Tomas.
PRESS RELEASE
A CALL TO DEFER AND RECONSIDER: ATOK COUNCILOR URGES DA TO HALT 6,000 MT CARROT IMPORTATION TO PROTECT FARMERS
ATOK, BENGUET — May 7, 2026 — In response to the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) recent announcement to import 6,000 metric tons of carrots (1K in April, 2.5K in May & 2.5 in June, another for succeeding months) to combat elevated market prices, Project UBBO Initiator Kelly Denn Tomas is issuing an urgent call to the national government to defer and reconsider this decision.
Tomas is urging the DA to hit pause, transparently justify the move to the highland agricultural sector, and open a dialogue before any implementation begins.
"Let the farmers understand, and please, understand the farmers," stated Tomas. "By the DA's own admission, their previous importation failed to bring down the retail prices of carrots in Metro Manila, which remain stubbornly high at PHP 80 to PHP 190 per kilo.
Representing the vegetable-producing communities of Atok and the wider Benguet province, Councilor Tomas is publicly challenging the DA's logic:
1. The DA points to high market prices as the trigger for importation. However, farmgate prices remain heavily depressed for our local growers. If importing carrots last month failed to lower the retail price, it means importers and middlemen absorbed the profits while consumers and local farmers continued to suffer.
2. The local agricultural sector needs to be fully informed of the exact reasons and empirical data justifying this massive importation. The DA must prove a genuine deficit that local harvests cannot meet, rather than relying on importation as a stopgap measure that fails to address the root cause of supply chain manipulation.
3. If this sudden influx of imports is tied to existing international trade agreements, we strongly urge the government to exhaust all legal remedies and seek solutions to defer the imports first.
4. Carrots are not a staple food like rice. We must ask the DA: Will Filipinos die if there is a temporary carrot shortage?
5. If this importation pushes through, who truly pays the price? Will the carrot local farmers and their families be sacrificed just to accommodate this specific DA move, which doesn't even guarantee cheaper food for the masses?
6. A decision of this magnitude was reportedly made without any consultation with farmers on the ground, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), or the academic community that studies these agricultural supply chains.
"Importation should never be the default reflex. We are heavily questioning this move and ask the DA to answer these concerns before implementing a policy that will kill local livelihoods. We are positive that when the DA really listens and not just hears, we can give farmers a fair price and give consumers affordable vegetables without relying on imports," stated Councilor Tomas.
Tomas, together with the farmers and agricultural researchers, urges the Department of Agriculture to reconsider this strategy and defer the scheduled importation. The Benguet agricultural stakeholders are willing to sit with DA for genuine, pro-Filipino solutions.
Kelly Denn Tomas- 09178188455
