A group of lawmakers led by Speaker Martin Romualdez has filed a bill providing for the creation, operation, and administration of Special Agricultural Growth Zones (SAGZ) in the country.
Apart from the Speaker, the other sponsors of House Bill 7077 were Tingog party-list Reps. Yedda Romualdez and Jude Acidre,
The measure has been referred to the Committee on Government Enterprises and Privatization.
“Agriculture is always an issue of scale…economies of scale. We need to start looking at the sector holistically and as an economy,” Acidre said in a statement.
According to the Tingog, HB 7077 will establish the legal framework and mechanism for the administration and
management of the SAGZ, while at the same time, assist in the preservation of natural resources and biodiversity.
“The creation of SAGZ will create a flow of both foreign and local investors that in turn will generate employment opportunities, as well as establish linkages among industries and around agricultural growth zones,” the party-list group said.
Romualdez and Acidre clarified however, that House Bill 7077 is not a panacea to the pervading problems in the agricultural sector.
“Rather, it is the primary step toward the right direction that is beneficial to our farmers and the agricultural industry as a whole,” they said.
“The measure is seen to establish financial and industrial cooperation between the Philippines and industrialized countries through technology-intensive industries. It will modernize the country’s agricultural sector and make sustainable agriculture technology accessible,” they added.
