Farmers to President Marcos: Declare agriculture production policy

MANILA, Philippines — Farmers’ groups yesterday asked President Marcos to declare in today’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) a policy emphasizing local production amid the flooding of imported agriculture products.

United Broiler Raisers Association (UBRA) president Elias Jose Inciong said Marcos should order the strict implementation of laws promoting the country’s agriculture sector, particularly Republic Act 8435 or the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act (AFMA).

“He needs to reiterate his policy emphasis on local production and back it up with budgetary support, including the approval of the tier 2 requests of the Department of Agriculture (DA),” Inciong told The STAR.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. is pushing for a P513-billion budget for 2025.

Inciong also called on Marcos to declare as urgent bills on livestock development.

For his part, Philippine Egg Board Association chairman emeritus Gregorio San Diego hopes that the government will fulfill its promise of local food producion.

Former agriculture secretary Leonardo Montemayor said Marcos should clarify during his third SONA whether local farm production is still his priority amid the approval of Executive Order 62 on reduced tariffs.

Montemayor said Marcos failed to fulfill his promise during his oath on June 30, 2022, that he would prioritize the country’s food production.

EO 62 took effect on July 7.

“It is very painful for our sector as before the maximum tariff reduction on imported food was only one year but under EO 62, it extended it all the way to the end of December 2028,” he said.

Farmers’ groups have asked the Supreme Court to stop the implementation of EO 62 as they questioned its constitutionality.

At the same time, Montemayor said the agriculture growth failed to catch up with the country’s increasing population.

He said the agriculture growth should double or increase by three percent to match the increasing population.

Growth in the agriculture sector would happen if more budget was allocated by the government, Montemayor said.

“For so many years, the local agriculture sector was neglected. While the budget (of the DA) has increased very significantly in the first year of President Marcos, that was in 2023, unfortunately since then it went down after that. We hope that by next year, 2025, it will increase,” he said.

“We want to hear from the President during his SONA that he will ensure that there will be enough budget for the department so that the local food production will be able to catch up with our requirements,” he added.

Montemayor said that the proposed P513-billion budget will be more than double the DA’s present 2024 allocation.

“Based on the proposal of Secretary Tiu Laurel, the budget for irrigation is not enough so number one is irrigation. If we don’t have enough irrigation, there is no way we can increase our food production so that is very critical and of course, there should be additional big dams. We should also focus on the so-called water impounding projects amid the La Niña so that during summer, our farmers can have sources of water,” he noted.

Montemayor reiterated that the government should prioritize assistance to farmers instead of the P29 per kilo of rice currently being implemented by the DA.

“The assistance to affordable rice is just a band-aid solution. Once the funds are used, where will you get the funding for the P29 per kilo of rice? We need to strengthen our productive capacity,” he said.

According to Montemayor, the government should also address postharvest facilities amid high losses incurred by farmers due to lack of enough machinery.

Montemayor said the government should also address the logistics so that farmers can bring their produce directly to the distribution areas and lessen the intervention of middlemen.

Plastics

An environmental group yesterday asked Marcos to prioritize the alarming issue of harmful chemicals in plastics in today’s SONA amid health risks, especially for children.

BAN Toxics executive director Rey San Juan Jr. cited the proliferation of toxic-laden toys.

“We call on the Marcos administration to prioritize actions to curb the alarming entry and proliferation of plastic products made of chemicals of concern across a wide range of sectors and product value chains, including toys and other children’s products,” San Juan said.

San Juan said that based on the State of the Science on Plastic Chemicals Report released this year, more than 16,000 chemicals are potentially used or present in plastic materials and products, with a mere six percent currently subject to international regulations.

“More than 4,200 plastic chemicals are considered chemicals of concern because they are persistent (long-term presence), bioaccumulative (stay and accumulate in humans and wildlife), mobile (they spread in water systems) and toxic (cause harm to living organisms),” he added.

According to San Juan, phthalates, bisphenol A, and vinyl chloride used in plastic production are a few examples of these chemicals, which have been linked to a wide range of adverse human health effects, including cancer, reproductive harm, asthma, birth defects, neurotoxicity and early mortality.

BAN Toxics has raised serious concerns after discovering toxic chlorinated paraffin in toys during a 2023 study conducted in ten countries, including the Philippines.

“The levels of toxic chemicals in the toys were comparable to those found in hazardous wastes, such as incinerator ash,” San Juan noted.

Loss and damage

Environmental group Greenpeace Philippines and frontline communities in San Mateo, Rizal asked Marcos to make climate polluters accountable for loss and damage.

Greenpeace said San Mateo has been a site of multiple climate disasters and its flood-control structures, which have yet to be completed, are already falling apart.

“As climate impacts continue to escalate with ferocious intensity, oil and gas companies, whose historical and ongoing emissions have contributed significantly to climate change continue to operate while denying their major role in the crisis,” Greenpeace said.

Greenpeace called on Marcos to certify as urgent the proposed Climate Accountability (CLIMA) Act.

“President Marcos must champion policies to help facilitate access to justice for communities by advocating for strong climate finance mechanisms on the international stage to make companies and not just countries pay, certifying the CLIMA bill,” Greenpeace said.

The CLIMA Act would establish a legal framework for climate loss and damage accountability.

Greenpeace said that the CLIMA bill, once passed into law, is the first one globally that opens up the possibility for corporate climate accountability to be recognized by a state, providing measures for reparation mechanisms.

The group said the bill intends to institute policies and systems to address climate change, protect communities from climate change-induced losses, damage, and human rights harms and provide mechanisms for accountability and reparations from those responsible for worsening the climate crisis, including corporate interests such as the fossil fuel industry.