Senator Chiz Escudero has urged the Executive and the Legislative to end the government’s agriculture deficit disorder as reflected in the flat farm sector growth inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Escudero said in 2022, the value of crop, livestock, poultry, and fisheries production was P1.756 trillion, computed in 2018 constant prices, which was lower than the P1.086 trillion production in 2018.
“This resulted in a 28% increase in the price of vegetables, 25% in fish, and 30% in meat within four years,” he said.
Escudero also said proof of a food crisis is when a kilo of onions is more expensive than the minimum daily wage.
At the same time, he renewed his call to hasten the much-needed help in the country’s agricultural sector to make it truly resilient and competitive internationally “with or without” the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) free trade agreement.
“I have been calling the government doe a long time to prioritize the agricultural sector,” he said.
Even with or without RCEP in mind, he cited the need doe the government to ensure that our agricultural sector is resilient to any internal and external shocks.
“After all, we are an agricultural country,” he said.
As the Senate continues to conduct hearings on the RCEP treaty for ratification, the legislator said the trade deal needs careful review to guarantee that stakeholders in the country’s agricultural sector, especially farmers and fisherfolks, are protected.
Escudero said the country should urgently address the weakness in the agricultural sector primarily caused by the meager investment that the government has given to it.
He renewed his call on the government to channel financing to the beleaguered farm sector.
He also pressed Congress to expedite the passage of the bill creating the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF).
On Monday, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri has told a media briefing that the Senate expects to ratify the trade agreement within the first quarter of 2023.
Ratification of the RCEP agreement was stalled in the previous Congress because of opposition from groups within the agricultural sector.
At present, there are some 100 groups from various sectors that are against the ratification of the international agreement.
The RCEP, signed by the Philippines in November 2020 and ratified by then President Rodrigo Duterte in September 2021, entered into force for other signatory countries on January 1, 2022. But because it has yet to be ratified by the Philippine Senate, the RCEP remains unimplementable in the country.
The RCEP is a free trade agreement among the Asia-Pacific nations of Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
In June 2020, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) released its 2018 study showing that poverty incidence was highest among farmers (31.6%), fisherfolk (26.2%) and individuals living in rural areas
(24.5%). In 2015, the same sectors were also the poorest, with poverty incidences at 40.8% among farmers, 36.9% among fisherfolk, and 34% among rural-based individuals.
“As I have been saying, nobody wants to be left behind in a global economy, but we must also be certain that in entering into more trade deals, we do not leave behind the most vulnerable sectors of our local economy. Growth must always be inclusive, or it will only perpetuate the cycle of poverty,” he added.