spot_img
28.6 C
Philippines
Friday, March 29, 2024

Competitiveness of PH agri needs probing—solons

- Advertisement -

Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero wants to investigate the country’s agricultural competitiveness to determine the government intervention the sector needs to boost farmers’ income while ensuring a food-secure Philippines.

“Ensuring agricultural competitiveness would require a measured deliberation geared towards determining the most effective government intervention and the most efficient allocation of public funds to achieve the objectives of government,” he said.

In filing Senate Resolution No. 55, Escudero underscored the need to assess the current state of the agriculture sector, which employs 23.9% of the Filipino workforce or about 10.3 million people.

Escudero said this is needed to align laws and policies in order to “stabilize and improve incomes of farmers and fisherfolk, and to make food affordable and accessible to the poor and marginalized sectors has led to diverging, if not competing, public policy directions.”

Meanwhile, Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte of Camarines Sur proposed the establishment of regional food terminals or depots across the country in support of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s plan to prioritize quality infrastructure support to farmers.

- Advertisement -

“In sync with his agenda as concurrent agriculture secretary to properly map out the supply chain and make foodstuff more accessible to and more affordable for consumers, President BBM can take his cue from his late father, former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.,” the lawmaker told reporters.

Villafuerte noted that during the Marcos Sr. presidency, he launched programs to rev up the supply chain such as the establishment of the Food Terminal Inc. (FTI) in Taguig City for the warehousing, processing, and marketing of major farm produce.

The solon also supports the President’s commitment to sustain the unprecedented state infrastructure spending of his predecessor, former President Rodrigo Duterte.

“President BBM could tweak this massive infra program in support of agricultural modernization by putting up food terminals across the country, with a focus on the main agricultural produce in the respective regions,” he said.

According to Escudero, various agriculture-related laws need to be revisited, such as Republic Act 8178 (Agricultural Tariffication Act) as amended by RA 10848, RA 11203 or the Rice Tariffication Act, and RA 11598 or the Cash Assistance for Filipino Farmers Act, with the end view of determining if these measures are beneficial to the industry and its workers.

Over the years, the senator noted that past administrations have responded to differing priorities in agriculture “by adopting a policy of targeted financial infusion in the sector to improve productivity alongside the rescission of quantitative import restrictions on agricultural commodities to reduce food costs.”

- Advertisement -

LATEST NEWS

Popular Articles