(From 104.7 IFM Dagupan News)

 

Short supply of vegetables in Pangasinan markets 

PANGASINAN is in short supply of vegetables on account of the long dry spell and serious shortage of irrigation water for the farms.

As a result, Pangasinan farms have practically stopped vegetable production forcing traders to source vegetables to sell in Pangasinan markets from other provinces.

This naturally drove the prices up of vegetables being sold in all markets of Pangasinan.

At the Malimgas Market in Dagupan City, vendors are already selling their vegetables at P20 to P30 more per kilo than their usual prices.

The vendors fear that soon, wholesale traders will not be able to supply vegetables because the expected El Niño will further affect production in other provinces.

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Owners seek traditional jeepneys’ stay 

JEEPNEY operators and drivers in Dagupan are no longer seeking extension of the deadline for public transportation modernization but are asking the government to instead allow their traditional jeepneys to remain on the road with the pledge to upgrade and provide additional features beneficial to passengers.

In an interview by IFM Dagupan, jeepney operators said they cannot afford to buy modernized jeepneys pegged from P1.7 million to P2 million even as a cooperative.

Land Transportation and Franchising Board earlier set on December 2023 as the new deadline for consolidation of all existing jeepneys into cooperatives or association. Franchises of individual operators who fail to consolidate after the deadline will be cancelled.

In Dagupan, several modernized jeepneys are already plying along the Bonuan to downtown routes but most traditional jeepneys remain operating.

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Pangasinan has enough rice to last till next  harvest season 

THE supply of rice in Pangasinan will be sufficient till the next rice harvest season this year, the National Food Authority (NFA) assured.

Jay Mark Malvar, NFA provincial manager, said NFA warehouses in Pangasinan  has 19,605 bags of rice and 20,950 bags of palay currently stocked, enough to supply domestic demands needs until September this year.

He said NFA targets to buy 300,000 kilos of palay from local farmers under its Palay Procurement Program. However, NFA still cannot increase its buying price of palay at P19 per kilo, which is lower than the P20 to P23 per kilo being offered to farmers by traders.

To alleviate the situation, NFA is moving to barangays asking farmers to sell their palay to the agency.

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Oil price rollback no impact on jeepney, tricycle drivers yet

JEEPNEY and tricycle operators and drivers in Dagupan said recent oil price rollback did not amount to anything as most expected.

Dante Dagarag, president of Dagupan Tricycle Operators and Drivers Association (TODA), said the big time oil price rollback is meaningless because with it were high prices of other basic commodities.

He said the tricycle drivers and their families still buy basic commodities whose prices remained prohibitive even for ordinary wage earners.

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Malasiqui water provider slammed for poor service

DUE to poor service, the Inpart Waterworks & Development Corporation (IWADCO) was slammed by water consumers in several barangays of Malasiqui.

The water consumers from Poblacion, Cabatling, Taloy, Pasima, San Isidro, Tambac, Gomez and Alacan  have been  complaining for weeks because of limited volume water being released to their areas.

A town councilor told IFM Dagupan that because of its poor  water service, he will propose the non-renewal of the contract that  the company entered  with the Malasiqui municipal government.  IWADCO has not responded  to the complaints of their customers posted on social media.

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Bangus, tilapia price increase noted  

THE price of milkfish and tilapia were being sold in Dagupan markets by P20 more after the Bangus Festival.

Bangus was pegged at P220 while tilapia was sold at P170 per kilo, according to a price survey at the Magsaysay Fish Market.

Fish vendors said it’s usually the hot weather condition behind the short supply of fish even  if bangus grows better during the hot weather.

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More farmers plant corn than rice or eggplant during hot summer 

A NUMBER or farmers in Pangasinan have opted to plant corn in their farms instead of rice or eggplant that require plenty of water to grow and mature. Corn they say, needs only little water to grow.

To support rice and eggplants will required use of water pumps that make production costs higher. Many farmers tried to plant rice early but little or no grain could be gathered. #

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