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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Leni-Kiko tandem vows to make farming profitable for small farmers

Leni-Kiko tandem vows to make farming profitable for small farmers

Published Mar 21, 2022 05:05 pm

Vice-presidential aspirant Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan has vowed to make farming more profitable for small farmers and farm workers under a Pangilinan-Robredo term to encourage them to continue tilling lands and feeding Filipinos.

(Keith Bacongco / Manila Bulletin File Photo)

"We have to move away from subsistence farming which is the norm, to farm enterprise and farm entrepreneurship," Pangilinan said in a Radio Veritas Catholic e-forum for the May 2022 elections.

Pangilinan said farm enterprises and farm entrepreneurship are enshrined in the Republic Act 11321 or the Sagip Saka Act. Pangilinan serves as the principal author and sponsor of the measure.

The Sagip Saka Act created the Farmers and Fisherfolk Enterprise Development Program under the Department of Agriculture which is "a comprehensive set of objectives, targets, and holistic approach in promoting the establishment of enterprises involving agricultural and fishery products."

In the same forum, the senator said his tandem with standard-bearer Vice President Leni Robredo would double the budget of agriculture to ensure food security and an adequate supply of rice at affordable prices to all Filipinos.

Pangilinan has been assuring to bring the issues and concerns of farmers and fisherfolk front and center of the Robredo administration in his various sorties.

He also has a positive comment on corporate farming.

"There are several templates. Hindi naman (It is not just) one size fits all. Corporate farming is one way to go," the vice-presidential bet said.

Pangilinan cited the example of the successful case of Maguindanao’s La Frutera Inc.’s 2,000-hectare banana plantation, being managed by former Agriculture Secretary Senen Bacani since 1996.

The Middle Eastern firm Chiquita Unifrutti International was convinced by Bacani to invest in banana farms in a predominantly Muslim area on Mindanao in 1996, Pangilinan noted.

La Frutera is among the pioneering large-scale banana plantations in Datu Paglas, Maguindanao, employing more than 1,500 and exporting to Asia and the Middle East.

As one of the top 10 banana producers in the country, it is the only plantation in the Philippines certified by the Rainforest Alliance and International Organization for Standardization for environmental management.

Related Tags

Leni Robredo Kiko Pangilinan Sagip Saka Act LENI-KIKO TANDEM farming farmers
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