KIKO PUSHES FOR INSURANCE FOR FARMERS AND FISHERFOLK

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food, Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan, says that it would be in the best interest of the government to focus on farmers and fisherfolk as the country pushes for food security. Pangilinan made the statement as the national budget nears deliberation.

"There is an urgent need to include in the national budget crop insurance for our farmers, and also insurance for our fisherfolk. Every year we are ravaged by typhoons and the subsequent floods and destruction that go with them. It is high time we come up with a comprehensive insurance coverage plan for our crops, and even for our farmers and fishermen themselves. The government will save more in the long run as it secures the livelihood of our agricultural communities."

Pangilinan adds that it would be nearly impossible to achieve food security and food self-sufficiency if the country's farmers and fisherfolk remain impoverished.

"We should work hard toward giving our farmers and fisherfolk the same prosperity that farmers in countries like Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam, and China are now starting to enjoy," he points out.

"We need to break away from the status quo as it has taken us nowhere in the past several decades. We must come up with radical solutions to address and eventually resolve those issues that ail the country's agriculture and fisheries sector," Pangilinan emphasizes.