Ghost projects, real costs: How corruption in farm-to-market roads hikes food prices

Before sunrise in La Trinidad, Benguet, vegetable trader Marilyn Costan Almoda is already preparing for the long day ahead.

- By ALDEN MONZON

By 6 a.m., she and her helpers are sourcing produce, negotiating prices and loading sacks of leafy greens, carrots and other highland vegetables onto trucks bound for lowland markets.

It is a routine she has followed every day for a decade, yet one challenge remains constant: getting vegetables out of the farms without the roads breaking down.

"For our farmers, transporting vegetables is slow because many of the roads we use are not in good condition," she said in Filipino.

"When there is a typhoon, the roads are easily damaged. Sometimes the vegetables get ruined before we even reach the market," added the 37-year-old vegetable trader.

She pointed to a private road leading to Halsema Highway, a lifeline for Benguet's vegetable industry.

When storms batter the mountains, access becomes difficult, travel slows and supply drops quickly. The effect, she said, is immediate.

"Prices double or even triple when only a few traders can make the trip," Almoda said.

Her day usually stretches until 5 p.m., with the worries of the day repeating themselves the next morning as she and fellow traders struggle with slow transport and unpredictable road conditions.

Industry recommendations Former agriculture secretary and Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) chair Leonardo Montemayor said this experience from farmers and produce traders reflects a broader national problem.

He said logistics alone account for an estimated five to 10 percent of an agricultural product's final retail price, with poor roads pushing that share higher, especially in remote and mountainous communities.