Press Release
July 29, 2009

ANGARA: DEVELOP AGRI LANDS, GENERATE HARVEST
AND MILLIONS OF JOBS

Sen. Edgardo J. Angara is calling for the passing of Senate Bill 883 to address rural poverty and put to good use arable lands in the provincial regions. The "Rural Employment Generation Act of 2007" seeks to accelerate the development of idle and underutilized agricultural lands to generate both high-quality produce and employment for the rural population.

Sen. Angara, former Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, laments, "Five million Filipinos in the rural sector are either unemployed or underemployed, which is due to the underutilization of agricultural lands in the country. At the same time, we are missing the opportunity of harvest."

The DA, as lead agency to implement this Act through the Rural Employment Generation Program, will convert a million hectares of unused lands into farms of hybrid corn, cassava and high-value commercial crops (HVCCs) in a period of two years.

The Program will integrate existing crop areas with idle prime lands into clusters of mechanized and irrigated farms, adopt modern crop production technologies, enhance farmers' access to credit for their purchases and capital, provide training for farmers on innovations in post-harvest mechanization and processing and promote local capacity-building. A quality standard system will also be implemented on feed grain, vegetables, fibers, fruits and industrial crops to ensure their quality for consumption as well as better and competitive prices in the domestic market.

Recently local farm produce have taken a slump in the market due to imported goods from neighboring Asian countries. "This bill will boost our capability to produce high-quality crops," Sen. Angara asserts.

A joint committee between the government and the private sector will be created to facilitate both their active participation in the program, specifically in managing implementation of the program and identifying farmer beneficiaries, credit channels and markets and service providers.

The bill will provide for an Agricultural Development Fund of P5.55 Billion for the first year and P4.1 Billion for the second year of the program, to be taken from the budget of the DA. The program is then expected to generate rural employment valued at P10.35 B and private sector investments worth P10.6 B.

"Not only are we maximizing the richness of our resources for healthy consumption; we are also creating jobs for millions of Filipinos in the provinces and keep them self-subsisting so they can build better lives. The core objective of this bill is to drastically reduce rural poverty," Sen. Angara expresses optimism.

As Agriculture Secretary, Sen. Angara implemented the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act (AFMA) that improved food production programs and support services and led to higher harvest levels of rice, underscoring the drive to attain self-sufficiency. With this new bill, Sen. Angara reaffirms his commitment to improving the lives of millions of Filipinos through such programs that are within reach by his intended beneficiaries.

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