Senator Kiko Pangillinan, who now chairs the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform, is pushing for the strengthening and expansion of the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) extension services to reach farmers in the provinces.
Pangilinan lamented that currently, farmers couldn’t access the DA’s services because the agency only has regional offices.
“Ang extension service ‘pag hindi nakaugnay ‘yung DA sa lupa, parang tanim (na) hindi tutubo. Kailangan nakatutok.”
“Ang extension service ‘pag hindi nakaugnay ‘yung DA sa lupa, parang tanim (na) hindi tutubo. Kailangan nakatutok,” the veteran legislator said. “Nais nating dagdagan ng extension service na programa hindi sa regional level. Dapat minimum hanggang probinsya.”
The seasoned lawmaker cited the state of farmers in Cavite, where his farm is also located.
“Kung kinakailangan nilang tutukan ang ating extension service, paano na eh andon sila sa Lipa? Ang biyahe papuntang Lipa eh kulang-kulang tatlong oras,” the senator said during a recent meeting with the Yakap at Halik Cooperative in Bailen, Cavite.
In a separate visit to Los Baños, he held the same discussions with a local farmers’ cooperative, underscoring the need for government services to reach localities.
“Hanapan natin ng paraan ‘yang suporta na maibibigay sa inyo.”
“Paano matutukan ng DA yung pangangailangan ng magsasaka dito (sa Los Baños) at magsasaka sa amin (sa Cavite) kung walang extension na sapat para matutukan?” Pangilinan asked. “Hanapan natin ng paraan ‘yang suporta na maibibigay sa inyo.”
He likewise told the cooperative to urge their local chief executives to fully implement the Sagip Saka Act by convincing Metro Manila-based mayors to purchase produce directly from the farmers.
Under the 2019 Sagip Saka Act, the national and local governments can purchase produce directly from farmers and fisherfolk without public bidding.
