Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan has urged the Senate to pass two agricultural reform measures that would ensure the country’s food security as tensions in the Middle East threaten global food supply chains. 

Pangilinan is referring to the proposed Agricultural and Fisheries Cooperatives Act (Senate Bill No. 1900) and the Agriculture and Fisheries Extension Act (Senate Bill No. 1991).

The two measures will also complement the 2019 Sagip Saka Act, which allows national government agencies and local government units (LGUs) to purchase food directly from farmers and fisherfolk without public bidding. 

"They say, 'to secure our food, we must first secure our farmers and fisherfolks' and to secure their well-being and efficiency, we must organize and strengthen farmers and fishers, especially their livelihood and the solidarity that naturally flows in our Filipino blood," Pangilinan said in his sponsorship speech for the Senate Bill No. 1990 under Committee Report No. 52, which aims to strengthen agricultural and fisheries cooperatives in the country.

SB No. 1990 will cover entire value supply chains, including inputs, production, processing, logistics, marketing, savings and credit, farm education, agri‑tourism, digital agriculture, and climate‑resilient safety nets.

It would also provide tax incentives and encourage government banks and financial institutions to extend preferential treatment to agri and fisheries cooperatives. 

Pangilinan said the measure aims to strengthen their financial positions, empowering them to achieve economies of scale that they can use to enter into negotiated contracts with government agencies and instrumentalities under the Sagip Saka Act. 

In pushing for SB No. 1991, Pangilinan said the measure aims to “address precisely that serious and wide gap in terms of agricultural governance in the country.”

It aims to bring extension service workers down to the municipal level, to ensure timely and efficient implementation of state programs and distribution of assistance to farmers and fisherfolk. 

The two measures, once enacted into law, will serve as an investment in the systematic expansion of the country’s food supply chain. 

It would also provide proper training to farmers and fisheries in climate-smart agriculture, technologies, insurance, and other areas. 

“When I was food security secretary in 2014 and 2015, the country was importing 10 billion dollars worth of agriculture products. Today, 10 years later, we are importing double. 20 billion dollars worth of agriculture products. It is not right,” Pangilinan said in his sponsorship speech for Senate Bill 1991 under Committee Report No. 53, or the Agriculture and Fisheries Extension Act. 

“We have to correct, Mr. President – the broken system of agriculture systems in the country. Our farmers are still struggling. We are still in debt. Our food is still being imported, so these twin measures Mr. President that will re-structure the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, I believe is the way forward,” he added.