A PARTY-LIST lawmaker on Tuesday urged the government to provide more support for farmers and fishermen to boost local production and effectively address inflation.
Rep. Wilbert Lee of AGRI party-list group stressed that local food producers deserve better services from the government which should be an enabler to achieve food security and cheaper basic commodities.
Lee made the statement after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. issued Administrative Order (AO) No. 20 to streamline the procedures and policies on the importation of agricultural products and remove non-tariff barriers in a bid to stabilize food supply and curb rising domestic prices.
“We understand the purpose of AO 20 to immediately lower the price of goods and reduce the burden on our consumers. But we can consider this as a short term solution. We see that the long-term solution to inflation is the additional support to our local food producers that will benefit the people—from our farmers and fishermen to our consumers,” he said.
“We cannot be import dependent forever. Even if we speed up the importation process, we cannot control the export policy of other countries which can be tightened or changed at any time depending on circumstances such as calamities or unrest in other countries,” Lee added.
Inflation rate in the country rose to 3.7 percent in March from the previous month’s 3.4 percent with food inflation as the main contributor to the overall inflation.
The Bicolano lawmaker reiterated that the government must aggressively address factors contributing to food inflation to curb rising prices of basic goods.