Sagada Harvests Haul | Food 2020

We all have heard about the disastrous situation of farmers all over the world. Due to the pandemic, there have been numerous breaks in the produce supply chain.

Farmers usually have a crop system, wherein they know when they should plant, when they can harvest and when they can immediately sell or supply their crops. Unfortunately, the pandemic greatly affected transport freedom and lockdowns all over the world seemingly happened simultaneously. Farmers suddenly lost their buyers, ways of transportation and worst of all, ended up with tons of produce that they are not able to store.

 

See:

https://rappler.com/newsbreak/in-depth/farmers-trash-spoiled-vegetables-urban-poor-hungry-coronavirus-lockdown

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/01/coronavirus-disrupts-supply-demand-farmers-throw-flowers-milk-fruit.html

Some choose to sell their produce for an ultimate bargain, going as low as P3 per kilo which I have been told is even less than the cost to plant. This means they are losing money by selling their harvests instead of gaining any profit. Most choose to just throw away their crops as they see it as a cheaper route.

Screenshot from GMA News Facebook page

Imagine throwing away tons of produce that should’ve been your family’s income. Even seeing the videos and pictures online of fruits and vegetables being thrown away hurts my soul. So, when I came across Sagada Harvests on Facebook, my interest was immediately piqued.

Sagada Harvests is an initiative by the team of Mr. Christian to help our northern brothers.

From their Facebook page:

The Sagada Harvests Project seeks to expand the market of highland produce to Metro Manila households as a way of helping farmers cope with the coronavirus pandemic. This is an initiative of private individuals as requested by the affected farmers.

What sets them apart is that they charge reasonable prices for the goods (equal or cheaper than regular market prices) and they give the farmers the majority of the profit.

They started in mid-August, and I was luckily able to purchase a few items during their September 15 batch.

Here’s what I purchased from them:

They also offer a variety of other items such as fruits, vegetables, bread, and others.

Here’s how you can order.

• Like their Facebook page as they release a Google Form for pre-orders. The Google Form is where you’ll be able to see the full list of items that is going to be available for that batch.
• Wait for the order confirmation via text message or email from the Sagada Harvests team
• Pay your balance via bank transfer or gcash
• Wait for the go signal when you can pick up your order via Grab/Lalamove/Mr. Speedy
• Enjoy your Sagada Harvests! Make sure to post and tag them on Facebook to spread the news as well!

If you missed the pre-order, you can also order on or after the Metro Manila touchdown. However, this will not guarantee that your preferences will be available as there is a limited quantity of items.

• Check the list of available goods on their Facebook page.
• DM the page with your order list and wait for order confirmation.
• Once confirmed, pay your balance via bank transfer or Gcash
• After payment, coordinate the pickup of your order with the Sagada Harvests team. You can use Grab/Lalamove/Mr. Speedy
• Enjoy your Sagada Harvests! Make sure to post and tag them on Facebook to spread the news as well!

Alternatively, there are different pickup points should you wish to order a little closer to home. Just let the Sagada Harvests team know where you prefer to pickup your goods. 

• Project 8 QC
• North EDSA
• Taguig
• Paranaque
• Pasig City
• Mandaluyong
• Diliman QC
• Arayat Cubao
• Liberty Cubao
• Bataan
• Calauag

They will be opening their next batch very soon, and I highly recommend that you check them out. The Sagada Harvests team is very amiable and understanding, and will definitely do their best to accommodate your orders.