HONTIVEROS: AGRI BOOST ESSENTIAL TO PROVIDE JOBS, LIVELIHOOD

Senator Risa Hontiveros has underscored the importance of boosting the agricultural sector, saying that it plays a 'leading role' in national economic recovery amid the economic recession and the pandemic.

"Agriculture and agri-related sub-sectors continue to be a huge influence on other sectors of the economy. Lulubog at lilitaw ang kapalaran ng ibang mga sektor, depende kung ano ang mangyayari sa agri," she said during the Senate budget deliberations for the Department of Agriculture (DA).

"The food manufacturing sector in particular is potentially still a large employer and destination of foreign and domestic investments. Kailangan nating alagaan ang sektor na ito na tila nabansot at napabayaan," Hontiveros furthered.

According to Hontiveros, proposals to boost the agriculture budget should be supported to ensure the restoration of the livelihood of hog raisers affected by swine flu, minimize the importation of agricultural products and bolster the ability of farmers and fishers and the country's food production to be able to withstand the effects of climate change.

She then asked the Senate to provide more budget to support corn production and fisheries to strategically develop the sectors and provide assistance to farmers and fishers in response to the proposal to import fish and corn, an issue which was brought up during the budget hearing of the agency in the House of Representatives.

"Pinag-uusapan nitong nakaraan ang pag-angkat ng isda at mais. Saang probinsya o rehiyon ba kailangang may malaking public investment sa mais at pangisdaan para hindi na kailangang mag-import at maisalba ang mga hanapbuhay?" she asked.

"Gaya ng dapat na suporta para makaahon ang small hog raisers, kailangan ding pagtuunan ng pansin ang pinakakailangang investments para sa corn industry at fisheries," Hontiveros said.

The resiliency of the sector amid the pandemic, according to Hontiveros, should be harnessed and taken advantage of to provide more quality jobs and make the youth interested to stay in agriculture and in the rural areas.

"Maraming mga kabataan na magtatapos ng pag-aaral at pwedeng hindi agad makahanap na trabaho. Pagkakataon na natin ito na maipasa sa susunod na henerasyon, sa pamamagitan ng Agripreneurship at pagtatayo ng mga industriya ang pagpapayabong sa Agri lalo pa't tumatanda ang populasyon ng ating farmers and fishers," Hontiveros said.

"Nakita natin na astig ang Agri kahit may pandemic at "swinedemic" dahil naging resilient ito sa harap ng krisis. Pero kailangan din itong maging "buoyant"para mas kaya nitong magsalba ng mga nawalan ng trabahong maaasahan sa mga syudad. Mangyayari lang ito kung bibigyan ng priority at karampatang budget ang sektor," she concluded.