With three years remaining in his term, the Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc. (PCAFI) is urging President Marcos to implement critical reforms aimed at accelerating the development of the agriculture sector.

Among PCAFI’s top recommendations for the president is the implementation of a floor farmgate price across key commodities including rice and corn.

The industry group said this measure will guarantee that farmers’ income remains stable amid volatility in the market.

“The floor price mechanism must be enforced in partnership with the private sector to ensure proper implementation,” it said.

Last month, the Department of Agriculture (DA) floated the possibility of implementing a floor price on rice to shield farmers from private traders that are buying palay (unmilled rice) at low prices.

As a support measure, PCAFI is calling on the government to accelerate the establishment of a reliable and real-time data information system as mandated under Republic Act (RA) No. 8435 or the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act.

Referred to as the National Information Network (NIN), this system shall provide information related to agriculture and fisheries, covering supply and demand data, price and price trends, and product standards.

The group said cold storage facilities and warehouses nationwide must be required to register before being allowed to operate to ensure accurate data gathering.

As the Philippines continues to import agricultural commodities, PCAFI is pushing the Marcos administration to “rationalize” the government’s importation policy.

It asserted that imports should only address the shortfall in domestic supplies to protect the earnings of farmers while keeping retail prices stable.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Philippines will remain as the world’s top importer of rice, with imports projected to reach 5.5 million metric tons (MT) next year.

The foreign agency is also estimating an increase in corn imports to 1.75 million MT from 1.63 million MT as demand for food and feed corn continues to outpace local production.

To shield corn farmers from the entry of these foreign-based goods, PCAFI wants the DA to invest ₱500 million for every 1,000 hectares of corn farms.

Specifically, the group is seeking the implementation of such a program in the regions of Cagayan Valley, Northern Mindanao, and Soccsksargen since planting in these areas is done twice a year.

“The DA must also accelerate the clustering and consolidation of corn producers and provide appropriate logistics to lessen transfer costs and provide corn farmers additional profit,” it said.

Meanwhile, PCAFI is also proposing the creation of a unified registry system for municipal fishermen principle of reciprocity for licenses issued by municipalities to local fishermen in its area of operations.

The industry group said the government should grant licenses to small fishermen that enable them to fish beyond the borders of their respective municipalities.

PCAFI has also expressed its support for the creation of the Bureau of Agriculture Cooperative, which will be attached to the DA. This new government unit will expedite the clustering of farmers to boost productivity and reduce production costs through collective operations.

It likewise backed the return of the Bureau of Agricultural Extension Services to ensure that the DA has the power to assist farmers up to the barangay level and assign agriculture technicians in every town or town clusters nationwide.