Various organizations of farmers, fisherfolk, agribusiness owners and members of the academe have come together to release a position paper that is meant to help “reverse” the current state of the agriculture industry.
The Bayanihan sa Agrikultura, Federation of Free Farmers, Alyansa Agrikultura, Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food and the Coalition for Agriculture Modernization in the Philippines laid out 12 recommendations that, according to them, were keys to achieving food security, job creation, poverty eradication and balanced rural-urban development.
The call was made amid the rising cost of oil and fertilizers that continued to hound farmers and fishers, the worsening effects of climate change on food production and the increasing food prices.
The groups’ recommendations included the doubling of the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) annual budget and the allocation of substantial funding across agricultural commodities other than rice.
They also proposed the creation of a Land Bank subsidiary that would be dedicated to lending to small farmers and fishers.
They urged lawmakers to create a Department of Fisheries and Marine Resources to give importance to the fisheries sector. They said the government must also assert the country’s sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea, considered a major source of marine fish supply.
The agriculture industry continues to be marred with systemic challenges despite its potential to become one of the most lucrative sectors in the country. (©Philippine Daily Inquirer 2021)
