Food chamber backs GMA’s SONA targets

The Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food, Inc. (PCAFI), an umbrella organization in agriculture, fisheries and food industries, has expressed its full support for President Arroyo’s vision for a strong republic.

"The SONA was a well crafted speech and speaks well of a strong leader," Col. Alex T. Escaño, PCAFI president, said.

Escaño said PCAFI members share a common desire to help solve the country’s problems through a four-point program that will address the economic development of the countryside.

1. Generation of jobs/Alleviation of poverty — The task of job generation and poverty alleviation are obviously causative. Moreover, in rural and sustainable job generation, the effect is not just alleviation but even eradication of poverty. PCAFI is ready to work with Secretary Luis P. Lorenzo Jr. in his task of generating one million farm jobs.

2. Use of "CARPed" farmlands to secure bank loans — The use of CARPed lands for securing bank loans is a vital component in liberalizing credit so seriously short for farmers. PCAFI is in touch with Cesar E. A. Virata and Senen C. Bacani in reviewing earlier work concerning this issue and other issues such as loan retailing, innovative financing and others. This effort will probably get other agencies involved, such as PCCI, MAP, BAP and others and end up with some kind of an omnibus bill on agricultural and fishery financing.

3. Reduction of corruption — PCAFI’s principal concern is with smuggling of agricultural produce and products that destructively compete with local production. These include livestock and fishery products, grains, garlic, onions and others.

4. Promotion of peace and order — PCAFI is keenly aware of how the lack of peace and order has deterred investments in agriculture and fishery. While agricultural enterprise, particularly when resulting from some kind of cooperation between business firms and producers, enjoys self-generated protection from lawless elements that are also economically deprived, they would still need protection from organized crime.

PCAFI feels that the high poverty is an agricultural phenomenon. About 70 percent of the poor are in the countryside.