Group urges government to prioritize assistance to farmer-victims

MANILA, Philippines - Party-list group Agricultural Sector Alliance (AGAP) has urged the government to prioritize assistance to thousands of farmers in the country whose agricultural products were damaged by tropical storm Ondoy and typhoon Pepeng.

In a recent press forum, AGAP Rep. Nicanor Briones said the government could assist the farmers by providing them with free seeds, fertilizer and irrigation. “Our farmers are already hard pressed to meet the demands for fruits, vegetables meat and poultry products since their crops and livestock were damaged by the floods. However, they said they can easily recover with proper government’s assistance,” Briones said.

The party-list representatives said that based on the reports of the Department of Agriculture (DA), the recent typhoons have caused more than P18 billion worth of damage to agriculture. The damage to crops resulted in jacking up of vegetable prices in Metro Manila which soared by 100 to 200 percent, Briones observed.

He said farmers, hog and poultry raisers are also suffering from the continuous smuggling of imported onions, carrots, potatoes and meat, which are now being sold in different markets, particularly in Divisoria.

He said that in previous years, agricultural products would be coming from provinces. Now, these same products are being shipped out from warehouses in Metro Manila and are being sold to the provinces, he added.

Briones stressed that at this time of crisis, the government, particularly the BOC, must help the farmers, whose livelihoods were affected by the typhoons that hit the country recently.