To avert possible food scarcity amid the Middle East conflict, the local government unit (LGU) of Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental is offering farmers free transportation to the city proper for their farm products.

Krystle Jade Bato, spokesperson and OIC chief of the Consumer Protection Division of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Negros Oriental, told the Philippine News Agency in a phone interview on Wednesday that the move will help reduce the farmers’ transportation costs.

It will, at the same time, ensure the city’s food security as farmers usually sell their produce to traders from Bacolod City, she said. Farmers interested to avail of the free services may get in touch with the city agriculture office.

Aside from the free transportation, the local government also organizes a flea market at least twice a week, where vegetables, fruits, and other farm products are sold directly to consumers at a lower cost without the intervention of middlemen.

“A meeting with Guihulngan City officials, led by Mayor Filomeno Reyes, on Tuesday, discussed concerns on the escalating prices of fuel and the expected corresponding increase in commodities and food products,” Bato said.

The DTI was invited to Guihulngan City to update officials on matters related to the oil price regulation, the LGU’s role in the monitoring of fuel prices, and other concerns, particularly with a possible increase in prices of basic goods as a result of soaring oil prices caused by the Middle East crisis. (PNA)