Hindi puedeng pabayaan lang ng gobyerno ang mga magsasaka at mangingisda na maghanap ng pagbebentahan ng kanila produkto at dapat ay maki-alam ito sa food distribution nationwide kasi watak-watak ang ating production areas located in hundreds of disconnected islands.
Ang kapabayaan ng gobyerno sa aspeto na ito ng agrikultura at pangingisda is the main reason why food prices in the market are high while the earnings of the producers are very low.
Simple lang ang solusyon dito – establish a direct connection between the producers and the farmers para maiwasan ang maraming mga kamay na dinadaanan ng mga produkto mula sa bukid at pangisdaan papunta sa kusina ng pamilyang Pilipino.
Ginawa ko ito bilang Gobernador ng Cotabato through the annual Cotabato Fruit Festival in SM Megamall in Metro Manila and SM Cebu City.
Ipinagpatuloy ko ito noong ako ay naging Secretary of Agriculture.
Nang tumaas ang presyo ng gulay sa Metro Manila, ginawa natin ang DA Tienda, Farmers and Fishermen’s Open Market sa iba’t ibang bahagi ng Metro Manila.
Itinuloy ko ito noong ako ay malipat sa Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) through the MinDA Tienda sa Manila and the Mindanao Fruit Festival sa Baguio City.
All of these undertakings were a huge success.
Linking farmers with direct buyers has long been the feature of my advocacies in Agriculture.
In fact, when I was Governor of Cotabato, I introduced the Market-Oriented-Agriculture Concept which guided farmers on what high-value crops to plant.
One of the reforms that I will introduce in our Food Supply Chain would be to expand and strengthen existing government agencies like the National Food Authority and the Food Terminal Inc. to establish government-operated Food Consolidation Centers in the production areas and Food Outlets in major urban centers.
This will reduce the involvement of middlemen and dicers in the marketing and trading of basic food items and provide producers a bigger income while ensuring consumers of fresh and affordable food.
The NFA mandate should be expanded to assume the role of a marketing agency for the country’s agricultural export commodities, especially Cavendish Banana, Coconut products, Fruits and Aqua-Marine products.
Tayo lang ang bansa sa Southeast Asia na walang ahensya ng gobyerno na tumutulong sa agriculture and fisheries sector para makahanap ng export market kaya tuloy, binabarat at exploited ang ating mga producers, tulad ng Cavendish Banana farmers.
Kailangan natin itayo ang mga Regional Food Consolidation Centers in key production areas para tumanggap at bumili ng mga produkto ng mga magsasaka at mangingisda, as guided by the demands of the market, sa takdang presyo at volume.
It will not be the FTI, which would operate the Food Consolidation Centers, which will distribute the food commodities to areas where these are in short supply.
In the big cities like Quezon City, Cebu and others, there should be Farmers‘ and Fishermen’s Outlets where consumers or small retailers in the community markets in the outlying areas could buy fresh and affordable fish, vegetables and fruits.
This is not a dream or a wild plan because the Proofs of Concept – Cotabato Fruit Festival, TienDA Farmers and Fishermen’s Market, MinDA Tienda sa Manila and Mindanao Fruit Festival in Baguio City – had been done successfully.
This is an example of how, by simplifying governance, we could boost productivity while assuring consumers of available and affordable food.
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