AGRI Party-list Rep. Wilbert T. Lee (Rep. Lee's office)


Notion that farmers and fisherfolk are the absolute poorest in Philippine society, AGRI Party-list Rep. Wilbert T. Lee is asking the government to stay the course with its decision to invest heavily in both sectors. "Maraming kailangang gawin upang maayos ang agrikultura (A lot of things need to be done to fix the agriculture sector). But all these measures point to one thing—that the government needs to continue investing heavily to make the sector vibrant," Lee said in a statement Sunday, April 30. "With improved agriculture, we also improve the livelihood of our farmers and other producers and help them escape the cycle of poverty," underscored the neophyte solon. According to the 2021 poverty statistics released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), fisherfolk had the highest poverty incidence of 30.6 percent, followed by farmers with 30 percent. Lee noted that urgent action is needed to help farmers and fisherfolks have a better quality of life. On top of this, the Bicol congessman said the challenge remains for the government to revitalize agriculture through modernization, which would shift employment toward higher-value jobs like equipment operators and others that utilize technology. "We have to show that we are undertaking serious and sincere efforts to improve agriculture, so that the youth will not see it as a 'dead-end job'," Lee said. "Kailangan nating pakatandaan na nakakabit ang pag-unlad ng bansa sa agrikultura (We should always remeber that a nation's progress is tied to its agriculture)," further said.