Senator Cynthia A. Villar recognized the crucial role of the Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standards to ensure consumer safety while promoting the competitiveness of agriculture and fisheries products in the Philippines.
“It is a two-fold goal that should not be at the expense of one or the other,” said Villar during the 19th founding anniversary of BAFS, where she was the guest speaker.
The senator noted that safe and quality foods have remained the standard, even in the coming days.
Villar, chairman of the Senate Agriculture and Food committee, also said food security is the primary topic across the globe.
“Many have cited and continue to cite that at the rate the global population is growing, there is a serious concern about food security worldwide,” she said.
Based on estimates, the senator said there is a need to increase food production by over 60 percent to meet the expected global demand from a population of over nine billion in 2050.
Thus, the agriculture sector has been promoting and implementing sustainable practices to hasten food production, Villar added.
However, she said food is not all about production, since there is also the food safety aspect.
She acknowledges that BAFS has been giving many services to the public and the agriculture sector—from standards formulation, promotion and information, to technical services and registration of organic food and input producers/establishments, as well as accreditation of organic certifying bodies.
She said these services have important impact on the agriculture sector. The technical services for the implementation of agriculture and fishery product standards, Good Agricultural Practices, Good Animal Husbandry Practices are important because “we are in the midst of the reintegration under the Asean Economic Community or AEC.”
Focus on food safety, Villar said, is high on the agenda of the implementation of AEC.
Asean is moving towards standardizing practices and food safety systems such as GAP GAHP and HACCP-based systems among others.
She said BAFS’s role in the organic food sector including organic certifying bodies is also relevant as organic agriculture is becoming popular as we continue to promote it.
The senator said certification of organic bodies is crucial. “In fact, the international community is watching us closely about it,” she added.