UMAPELA ng tulong si Senadora Cynthia A. Villar para palakasin ang industriya ng pagsasaka sa bansa.
Ang panawagan ay ginawa ni Villar kasunod ng naging pahayag ng United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) na 70 porsiyento ng kinakain sa buong mundo ay nanggagaling sa maliliit na magsasaka.
Bilang chairperson ng Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food, sinabi ng senadora na isa ito sa mga haligi ng kanyang legislative priority- ang pagpapalakas sa mga Pilipinong magsasaka.
Aniya, kailangang turuan ang maliliit na magsasaka ng capacity-building strategies at approaches para mapatakbo nila ang kanilang maliliit na sakahan bilang agri-businesses at maging mas magaling at kumpetitibo.
Sa kanyang talumpati sa Department of Tourism- Farm Tourism Regional Consultative Workshop sa Sonrisa Farm, Naga City, sinabi ni Villar na kailangan ng bansa ng entrepreneurs na magsasaka.
“And I believe continuing education and training is the key. Adding that based on studies, among the barriers that keep Filipino farmers from being more successful are lack of technical expertise, inadequate access to socialized credit and lack of mechanization and financial literacy or business sense,” anang senadora.
“That is what I have been doing in my personal capacity as well as through the legislations I have been pursuing and programs I have been implementing through the Villar Social Institute for Poverty Alleviation and Governance (Villar SIPAG) and its two farm schools in Cavite and Bulacan,” dagdag pa niya.
Sa pagkilala sa malaking potensiyal sa pagsulong sa pagsasanib ng agrikultura at turismo, sinabi ni Villar na pinaiigting din nila ang mga pagsasanay at edukasyon sa ilalim ng Farm Tourism Development Law.
Hinihikayat ng Department of Agriculture- Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) at TESDA ang farm tourism camps na gawing learning sites at accredited extension service providers.
Sinabi niya na itinatadhana ng Farm Tourism Development Law ang accreditation ng farm tourism camps bilang technical vocational institutions sa agriculture at tourism courses sa ilalim ng TESDA.
Bilang pangunahing may akda ng Farm Tourism Development Law o Republic Act (RA) 10816, sinabi ni Villar na masaya siya dahil pinakikinabangan ito ng mga magsasaka at iba pang stakeholders sa sektor na ito.
“After all, the key essence of the Farm Tourism Development Law is for the government to “recognize that tourism, coupled with agriculture extension services, to disseminate the value of agriculture in the economic and cultural development of the country, to serve as a catalyst for the development of agriculture and fishery communities, and to provide additional income for farmers, farm workers, and fisherfolk,” ayon pa kay Villar. VICKY CERVALES
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