AGRICULTURE SECTOR LAUDS CAYETANO'S FOCUS
ON FARMING INDUSTRY
Farmers name Cayetano as their senator of choice

A senator who will fight for the needs of farmers. This is how farmers from all over the country described Senator Alan Cayetano as they endorsed the senator's re-election bid.

Cayetano was most recently endorsed by Engineer Rosendo So of the Abono Partylist before various groups of farmers and fishermen in Urdaneta, Pangasinan, saying that with Cayetano the issue of rice smuggling that hinders the growth of the agricultural industry would be addressed.

Cayetano's Listening Tour has given him the chance to talk to farmers from all over the country and learn of their true needs and concerns. He has had the chance to visit coconut farmers in Legazpi; strawberry farmers in La Trinidad, Benguet; rice farmers in Pampanga; sugar farmers in Negros Oriental; garlic farmers in Laoag, Ilocos Norte; coco coir workers in Sariaya, Quezon; and various farmers in Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, and Pangasinan. "Agriculture should be at the forefront of economic growth, not lagging behind," he said.

Cayetano has said that government must increase farmers' access to capital by making loans available to existing cooperatives and small businesses. "Instead of paying 20 percent interest to '5-6' lenders to rent equipment and buy seeds and fertilizer, farmer cooperatives will only have to pay 3-5 percent in interest," he said.

He also proposed that these cooperatives be supported by the government to enable them to acquire small-scale post-harvest facilities. "These will hopefully address the inefficiencies in agricultural production and help in improving the state of our farmers. This will help boost their income and help uplift the lives of their families," he said.

Farmers expressed their appreciation for the Listening Tour. "Senator Alan came to us when no one did. He listened to our needs and presented us with his PTK plan - an embodiment of what we really need for our industry to prosper," the Abono representative stressed.