Amid the devastation that Super Typhoon “Karding” left in Luzon, AGRI Party-list Rep. Wilbert Lee on Monday, Sept. 26, underscored the need for a budget increase for the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) post-harvest facilities, such as storage for grains and seeds, to mitigate the impact of future disasters on farmers and food supply.
The lawmaker said in a statement that proper storage facilities would make farming communities more resilient to disasters, such as typhoons.
“We must stop this vicious cycle where our farmers always register losses because of the lack of storage and other facilities to mitigate the effects of typhoons,” he added, while calling for an increase in the DA’s budget to address the problem.
“Karapat-dapat lamang na bigyan ng pondo ang post-harvest. Hindi lang ang mga magsasaka at mangingisda ang makikinabang kundi pati mga (The post harvest rightfully needs to have funds). Not only will the farmers and fishermen benefit, but also the) consumers. Winner tayo lahat (We are all winners).”
On Sunday, Sept. 25, as Karding battered most of Luzon, the DA warned that more than half of standing or planted rice and corn crops in the country stood to be affected.
READ: DA says ‘Karding’ may affect 1.7 million hectares of crops in Luzon
Last week, Lee already questioned the DA, which is headed in a concurrent capacity by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., on why it proposed a low budget for post-harvest activities despite the recurring problems experienced by farmers.
The debate in the plenary for the DA’s budget for 2023 showed that the agency proposed P59.96 billion for pre-harvest activities and only P13 billion for post-harvest activities.
“Even if the budget for post-harvest activities is doubled, the strategic problem remains. This is not to say that production is not important,” Lee said, stressing that farmers need help because the prices of equipment, fertilizers, and other farm inputs continue to rise.
“However, even if we assume that our agri inputs reach our farmers, which currently remains one of your agency's challenges, and fortunately increase their productivity, we still have to deal with the problem of getting these products ready for the market and consumers,” he added.
The lawmaker noted that the agriculture sector grew by only 0.2 percent for the first two quarters of this year, which posed the “urgent need” to support the post-harvest phase.
READ: Post-harvest facilities for rice farmers needed, says solon
He said the DA must recalibrate its strategy in balancing its support for the pre-harvest and post-harvest facilities.
“Huwag nating bawasan ang (Let us not reduce the) agri inputs, pero dagdagan at ipantay natin ang suporta sa (but let us add and equal the support for) post-harvest para masiguro natin na makakaabot nang maayos sa merkado at sa publiko ang produkto ng ating magsasaka at mangingisda (for us to make sure that the products of our farmers and fishermen will reach the market and the public),” Lee urged.
He lamented that it would take going viral on social media for this problem to be addressed as he sampled what happened in Batanes province when it had an oversupply of garlic and in Aritao, Nueva Vizcaya when farmers had to sell ginger for P100 per five kilos.
The lawmaker also noted the many reports about how farmers are destroying their cabbage and tomato outputs instead of selling them.
“Nakakapanlumo na hinahayaan nating mangyari itong kawalan o mababang kita ng mga magsasaka dahil hindi sila konektado sa (It is depressing that we are letting our farmers lose or have a low income because they are not connected to the) consumers,” Lee said.
He filed House Bill (HB) No. 3958 or the “Post-Harvest Facilities Support Act” this 19th Congress to compel the government to construct and provide post-harvest facilities across the country, especially in agricultural areas, to lower post-harvest production losses and increase the income of agriculture workers.