He noted that the yearly growth of the county’s agriculture sector is not enough to address the food needs of the country’s growing population, now estimated at 76 million.
Villar, chairman of the Senate committee on agriculture, pointed out that while the national population grows at an average of 2.36 percent a year, the agricultural sector has grown by an average of only 1.7 percent for the past 10 years.
"This is clearly not enough to feed a growing population. This disproportion must be addressed," Villar said.
He warned that any failure to address this low agricultural growth could result in more Filipinos going hungry.
Villar said that the growth of the country’s agricultural sector pales in comparison to other nations in Southeast Asia. He said that the food output of Thailand and Vietnam is growing each year by an average of eight percent and six percent, respectively.
He blamed the lack of investments as the leading cause of the underdevelopment of Philippine agriculture.
He said that among the country’s various economic sectors, agriculture has had the lowest investment growth rate.
"I appeal to the sense of patriotism of our businessmen. Let us all help push agriculture forward by pouring in needed resources," Villar said.
Meanwhile, some 1,500 town mayors all over the Philippines are poised to sign a pact with the Department of Agriculture binding them to push for the Arroyo administration’s agricultural modernization program.
A memorandum of agreement for this purpose was already finalized and set for signing between the DA and the League of Municipalities of the Philippines, said LMP president Ramon Guico Jr., the mayor of Binalonan, Pangasinan.
The pact enjoins the DA to provide P1 million "Ginintuang Masaganang Ani – Go Modern Agriculture" fund to every town under a cost-sharing scheme, for use by mayors to finance any agriculture modernization project in their localities. – Efren Danao