Villar lists 8 priority bills for farmers

The Senate agriculture committee has listed eight priority legislative agenda for passage in the current 18^th Congress that will uplift the lives of eight million crop farmers throughout the archipelago.

In a speech before the 2019 National Food Security Summit (NFSS) at the Land Bank building in Malate, Manila, Senator Cynthia A. Villar, committee chairwoman, said the Senate has the obligation to pass these measures and bolster the position of the Philippines as an agricultural country.

These measures, according to Villar, are

1.  The passage of the previously vetoed coconut bills
2.   Free Index–Based Agriculture Insurance Act: to strengthen the resiliency of small farmers against climate change and extreme weather risks
3.   Agri-Agra Law: an act providing for further compliance with Section 7 of R.A. No. 10000, otherwise known as the “Agri-Agra Reform Credit Act of 2009
4.  Philippine Livestock, Poultry & Dairy Industry Development Act: to strengthen the development, protection and regulatory functions, Including the  Promotion of the  dairy  and native Animal.
5. Fiber Industry: the aim is for the development, production, processing and marketing of local Philippine fibers – cotton, piña, ramie, silk, maguey, among others, for additional income for rural folks
6.  Amending the Organic Agriculture Act and putting in place the Participating Guarantee System: to intensify the promotion of organic agriculture in our country.  It will also help small organic farmers attain the organic certification they badly need to compete in local and global markets. PGS offers a complementary and low-cost system of quality assurance or third-party certification
7.   Instructional Gardens Act (Institutionalizing Gulayan sa Paaralan.
8. An ct requiring local government to allocate a certain precentage of their budget to agriculture.

The focus of these measures is to destroy the barriers that prevent Filipino farmers and fisherfolks from becoming competitive and profitable, Villar explained.

These barriers, according to Villar, are lack of technical expertise, inadequate access to socialized credit, lack of mechanization and financial literacy. (Mario Casayuran)