Senator Villar: Put family farms first

Family farms play a critical role in food production as they account for over 90 percent of all farms worldwide. This was according to Senator Cynthia Villar in a  statement she made during the 2nd National Small and Family Farmers/New and Beginning Farmers Conference.

The event was held in partnership with MoCA Family Farm and RLearning Center. It was also hosted and co-organized by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA).

The conference aims to promote the creation of farming systems that will maintain their productivity and usefulness in the community.

Legislations passed to help local farmers

Villar mentioned some major legislations that will help farmers. These legislations have been passed in the Senate and includes the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Act, which establishes a coconut levy trust fund for the coconut industry’s development.

Another legislation that Villar outlined was the Free Irrigation Service to Small Farmers Act. This measure will provide free irrigation to farmers who own land that are not larger than eight hectares.

Meanwhile, the Farm Tourism Development Act seeks to promote efficient, environment-friendly, and sustainable farm practices.

There is also a Rice Tariffication Bill, which removes the prescribed rice import volume. Eventually, rice imports can be opened to private rice traders who import additional volumes of crop from other Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam and Thailand with a 35 percent tariff.

The collected tariffs will then be used for mass irrigation, warehousing, and rice research, according to Villar.

via Manila Standard / Brenda Jocson