Proposed onion institute to benefit economy–lawmakers

THE House Committee on Agriculture and Food on Wednesday created a technical working group (TWG) to further study proposals to create the Philippine Onion Institute.

House Committee on Agriculture and Food Chairman Mark Enverga said the TWG will consolidate House Bill (HB) 1379 of First District Nueva Ecija Rep. Mikaela Suansing and HB 3110 of Third District Nueva Ecija Rep. Rosanna Vergara.

The TWG was created amid the issues hounding the onion industry.

In her bill, Suansing said the Philippines, with all its farming background and setting, can easily become a “respectable” onion-producing country.

“A study of the farming industries in the globe will reveal that establishing an onion industry can substantially benefit a country’s economy. Australia, for instance, is an established onion producer that caters to both its domestic and export markets. Other countries with farming industries have relatively delved into onion production as well,” she said.

However, Suansing said a comprehensive study from the initial to the final stages of onion production has yet to be conducted, if any, or “altered to attune to modern conditions.”

Her bill proposes to create the Philippine Onion Institute, which will catapult the country’s onion industry into a “more progressive entity.”

“An industry capable of serving the domestic and international markets, bringing with it much-needed revenue, thus considerably uplifting the lives of Filipinos in the process,” she said.

The bill also aspires to establish and operate one central experiment station which will undertake extensive research on onion culture and production such as, but not limited to, feasibility studies on merchandising onion farms, for example.

In her proposal, Suansing said the institute shall be placed under the supervision of the Department of Agriculture (DA) for the purpose of employing the expertise of said agency and to assure the successful implementation of the same.

“The DA as an administrative agency of the government is composed of experts in a specific field of specialization under its jurisdiction. Hence, the decision to place the aforesaid establishment under the supervision of the said agency certainly augurs well for the proposed bill.”

The measure intends to conduct all kinds of research work for the onion industry, aiming to discover and introduce processes that will improve productivity.

Moreover, it aims to establish and maintain “a sustainable and balanced relation” between production and consumption of onions in the domestic and foreign markets in the process.

“All to be done at a projected reduction of cost completing the metamorphosis of the country’s onion industry,” she said.

‘Viable livelihood’

FOR her part, Vergara said farming remains a viable source of sustainable livelihood for many Filipinos and a “promising catalyst for overall socioeconomic growth.”

“One such cash crop would be onions, which have been lauded as the ‘most indispensable culinary ingredient in the world’ due to the diverse range of flavors that it can provide depending on the variety used. Closer to home, it is also among the choice ingredients recognized to ‘make our meals distinctly Filipino.’”

Apart from its notable contributions to Filipino recipes, the lawmaker said onions have also been used to cure physiological disorders, such as cough, obesity, insomnia, hemorrhoids and constipation.

“Hence, like the actual form of the vegetable, there may be indeed many more layers or useful facets to onion cultivation that just need to be further explored.”

Vergara noted that onion output from 2004 to 2013 posted an annual growth rate of nearly 4.94 percent.

“Moreover, compared to 134,161 metric tons (MT) of onions produced in 2013, the country produced about 240,314 MT of onions for the 20182019 cropping season. Now, after havingseentheindustry’spromisingpotential and notable performance in recent years, our country cannot therefore afford to regress on this opportunity. There is no other sound option but to build on our gains,” she said.

“Also, it must be understood that such growth by the Philippine onion industry was not without its share of challenges. Hence, as issues, such as climate change, insect pests and diseases, price manipulation by cartels, and smuggling, also evolve, so must our country’s effective response to these.”

The creation of the proposed Philippine Onion Research and Development Center will be at the forefront of the country’s unified efforts at harnessing the potential of the onion industry, according to Vergara.

“Strategically located in the Municipality of Bongabon in the Province of Nueva Ecija, which is also being proposed to be declared as the Onion Capital of the Philippines since it has long been hailed as the ‘Onion Basket of the Philippines,’ the Center shall closely collaborate with stakeholders especially the onion farmer communities who heavily depend on the onion industry.”