Saturday, August 23, 2008 Lawmaker: Same problems hound agri, fisheries sectors By Carlo P. Mallo
ALMOST 11 years after the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act has been enacted into law, but the same problems continue to hound the agriculture and fisheries sectors of our country.
Congressman Abraham Kahlil Mitra, chair of the House committee on agriculture, said on Thursday that his consultation with farmers and fisherfolks in the various parts of the country showed that the lack of support from the government is still perceived to be the problem of the agriculture and fisheries sector.
Mitra was in Davao City for a consultative assembly to review the implementation of the Republic Act 8435 otherwise known as the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act of 1997.
"They want more transparency and more participation in the decision making for the agriculture and fisheries sector," Mitra said.
The Palawan congressman added that his consultations also showed the farmers apprehension of a possible repeat of the unresolved Fertilizer Scam, which provided fertilizers to various places throughout the country, including some areas of Metro Manila that do not even have a hectare of agricultural land.
"They don't want a repetition of the scams, especially the fertilizer scam," Mitra said.
After the country was hit with a food crisis last April to June of this year, the House of Representatives and the Arroyo administration are undertaking aggressive reforms, especially with the budget allocation to prevent the occurrence of similar incidents.
Mitra said the second largest bulk of the proposed P1.4 trillion 2009 budget will be allocated for the agricultural sector.
