MANILA – Sen. Francis Pangilinan on Monday called for structural reforms to strengthen farmers’ and fishers’ organizations, saying agriculture modernization needs effective extension services and strong cooperatives at the grassroots.
Pangilinan, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform, made the statement as the panel conducted a public hearing on Senate Bill Nos. 389 and 1183, or the proposed Agricultural Cooperatives Act, and Senate Bill No. 1182, or the National Agriculture and Fisheries Extension System Act.
Pangilinan said efforts in 2012 and again in 2024 to organize vegetable and fruit farmers failed to prosper despite weeks of training and support from the Department of Agriculture (DA), Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) and local government units.
“Hangga’t walang ‘boots on the ground’ ang DA, hindi mapapalakas ng husto ang ating mga magsasaka at mangingisda (As long as the DA has no ‘boots on the ground,’ we won’t be able to fully strengthen our farmers and fishers),” Pangilinan said.
The proposed measures seek to address these gaps through the establishment of a Bureau of Agricultural Cooperatives and the re-nationalization of extension services, he said.
“Unless we organize our farmers and fisherfolks, we will never modernize our agriculture. That’s how important these twin measures are,” Pangilinan said.
Pangilinan added the DA supports the bills and that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. underscored the critical role of extension services and cooperatives based on his experience as a former local chief executive.
The senator said Monday’s hearing marked the second hearing on the measures, following an earlier technical working group discussion on organizing farmers and fishers through extension services and cooperatives.
Meanwhile, Sen. Raffy Tulfo expressed support for the bills, saying cooperatives would allow agricultural workers to face challenges collectively — from planting to harvest and marketing — while enabling the government to deliver services more efficiently.
Tulfo also raised concerns over persistent problems in the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture, noting that some farmers and fishers remain unregistered, while others continue to receive assistance despite no longer being eligible.
“Ang daming tulong ng gobyerno ang hindi nakakarating dahil hindi rehistrado ang mga magsasaka at mangingisda (A lot of government assistance does not reach farmers and fishers because many of them are not registered),” Tulfo said. (PNA)