Senator Cynthia Villar on Monday reiterated her call to “mechanize” the agriculture sector which, she said, would boost not only the competitiveness of the country’s agricultural products but also the income of farmers.
Citing a study, Villar, chair of the Senate Committee on Food and Agriculture, said the lack of technology in agriculture sector is to blame for the farmer’s low productivity and income.
Mechanization refers to the “development, adoption, assembly, manufacture and application of appropriate, location-specific and cost-effective agricultural and fisheries machinery.”
The senator, following her committee’s hearing on the status of programs for the coconut industry, said the Philippines is “far” behind its neighboring countries in terms of mechanization. She, however, said it was not due to country’s incapability, as models have already been established.
At the hearing, Villar encouraged farmers to mechanize and plant more good coconut seedlings to raise their profit by innovating more products.
Villar also suggested that coconut farmers intercrop to further boost their income. (Vanne Terrazola)
