Large Squash in Cabanglasan
The size of the fruits attracted us to take some photos and interview the farmers who said the variety they used could yield 13 to 30 tons a hectare. That’s great! Given the current farm gate price of P3.50 a kilo, the farmers get a gross income of P45,500 to P105,500 per hectare.
To the farmers, the income they derive from the squash is already good. What they don’t know is that middlemen are raking in more money than them. The price of squash in the market at that time was P15 a kilo and the price difference was three times higher than the farm gate price. Even if we assume that the transport cost is P3.50 per kilo, which is ridiculously exorbitant, middlemen would still get a net gain of P8 per kilo.
Poor farmers, they make traders rich without knowing it. If ever they know, they simply have no other option.
