DAGDAG NA POST-HARVEST FACILITIES PARA SA MGA MAGSASAKA, IPINANUKALA SA KAMARA

Ipinapanukala ni AGRI Party-list Rep. Wilbert Lee na atasan ang gobyerno na magtayo ng dagdag pang post-harvest facilities para sa mga magsasaka.

Sa ilalim ng House Bill 3958 o Post-Harvest Facilities Support Act, binigyang diin ng kinatawan ang kahalagaahan na makapag tayo ng warehouses, rice mills, at transport facilities, gayundin ang flatbed dryers at threshers, upang mapababa ang kanilang post-harvest production cost at mapataas naman ang kanilang kita.

“Prayoridad nating mabawasan ang pasanin ng mga magsasaka. Magagawa ito kung mababawasan ang production loss, at maging dagdag kita at pantustos sa iba nilang pangangailangan. During our consultation among farmers and agricultural workers, one of the solutions we gathered is closing the domestic supply-and-demand gap and increasing productivity through post-harvest facilities provided by the government,” ani Lee.

Sa ilalim ng panukala, ang DPWH, kasama ang Dept of Agriculture, Dept of Agrarian Reform at farmer cooperatives ay magtatayo ng warehouses at rice mills sa kada rice producing municipality sa buong bansa.

Ang DTI naman ang magla-laan ng equipment at machinery para sa warehouses at rice mills na tutukuyin.

Sakaling maisabatas ang pondong gagamitin ay kukunin sa kasalukuyang budget ng DA. Kalaunan ay isasama na ang funding nito sa taunang pambansang budget.

“With the vision to employ state-of-the-art equipment and well-trained personnel, post-harvest facilities especially in regions heavily producing rice should be able to produce properly-dried paddy and consequently better-quality milled rice. The presence of these facilities should also provide a safety net for farmers during periods of oversupply, when drying facilities are overutilized and private traders are not willing to accept wet paddy and/or offer very low buying prices,” dagdag ng kongresista.