House bill to boost corporate farming

TAGBILARAN CITY – A Bohol congressman has filed a bill that promotes corporate farming as a way to boost agricultural production.

Second District Rep. Erico Aris Aumentado said in a statement released Sunday it has been proven that traditional farming has not been able to meet the rising demand of the population for food. Farming needs several inputs that the ordinary farmer may not be able to afford, Aumentado said.

In the bill’s explanatory note, Aumentado said the measure aims to strengthen the participation of corporations in the agricultural sector by establishing a national program to encourage corporate farming.

Corporations and partnerships, through direct land ownership or lease, may engage in agricultural products as a way to boost food security, he said.

He observed that the rising demand but dwindling supply has forced the government to import rice. Despite being an agricultural country, the sector has failed to produce enough supply to sustain the demands, he added.

Aumentado said he is confident that corporate farming will be able to address the problems of supply and correct the problems in agricultural production.

As an incentive, firms that will go into corporate farming will be granted tax exemption.

Loans taken out by the corporation will be credited as compliance with the Agri-Agra Reform Credit Act of 2009.