VP Leni: Improve lives, fix agri sector problems
In order to improve the living conditions of Filipinos, an urgent response is needed to address the country’s declining agricultural sector, Vice President Ma. Leonor “Leni” Robredo said Wednesday during the 72nd commencement exercises of Tarlac Agricultural University.
Speaking before TAU graduates, Robredo noted that Philippine agriculture has been lagging behind other sectors.
“Agriculture in our country has been left behind by other sectors, and we need to urgently fix this decades-old problem if we are to improve the lives of our people,” the Vice President said.
One solution, Robredo said, is to equip farmers with “up-to-date knowledge and skills” in farming that aims to ensure that poor families have access to nutritious food.
“As new technologies continue to advance, creative and innovative solutions can make the agriculture sector a source of much wealth, and prosperity would transform lives and benefit majority of our population,” she said.
Poor farmers, fisherfolk and people indirectly employed by agriculture make up more than half of the country’s labor force.
Prior to public service, Robredo was a lawyer for Saligan, an alternative law group that provides free legal aid to this marginalized sector.
The Vice President acknowledged that encouraging young Filipinos to take more interest in agriculture is a “tough sell.”
“Young people are raring to get out of it and the remaining farmers are getting old,” Robredo, a former housing chief, said.
“But we know that agriculture is not just about toiling the soil. Agriculture also needs entrepreneurs, economists, sociologists, researchers, among other things,” she said.
In her speech, Robredo shared that her office, through its poverty alleviation program, Angat Buhay, helps to boost Philippine agriculture by linking farmers to the private sector.
The Office of the Vice President partnered with Pilipinas Shell Foundation last year to provide integrated farming and bio-systems training to 244 local farmers in Sumilao, 256 farmers in Tampakan, and 190 farmers in Tinambac, Camarines Sur.