Benguet farmers are only expecting minimal losses from crop damage due to frost caused by the lower temperature in Benguet.
According to the Department of Agriculture in the Cordillera Administrative Region (DA-CAR), the farmers already mastered the system in avoiding frost from damaging plants in the cold months of the year.
The frost phenomenon occurs yearly in high-elevation regions in the provinces of Benguet and Mountain Province when the mountain region's temperature falls to zero, typically in the months of December, January, and February.
According to data gathered by DA-CAR, the "andap," or frost, was seen in Benguet on January 24 in the grassland of Mt. Pulag in Kabayan and on January 26 in the vegetative regions of Paoay, Atok, and Madaymen, Kibungan.
In Bauko, Mountain Province, the incident was also reported in Balicanao, Sadsadan, Mt. Data, Pactil, and Monamon Sur.
According to Pagtan, the towns have not yet provided them with a formal damage report.
The municipal agriculture offices (MAO), according to the DA, are actively monitoring the frost conditions in their region on behalf of the local government entities.
Dr. Cameron Odsey, the director of DA-CAR, stated that "they (farmers) would spray the plants using the water sprinkler at daybreak, before the sun rises, to melt the ice and avoid the sun's ray from injuring the foliage," in an earlier interview.
The farmers just remove the damaged outer leaves, and the remaining leaves are still sold, he continued.
