Govt told: Give food subsidy to frontliners, jobless Pinoys

THE Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc. (PCAFI) called on the Department of Agriculture (DA) to reconsider its plan of giving planters food subsidy to stimulate demand for farm produce like chicken.

PCAFI President Danilo V. Fausto said it would be better if the food subsidy in the form of vouchers would be given to frontliners as a way of boosting their morale and expressing gratitude for their work during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Fausto added that this would also boost the consumption of frontliners since they are in the epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic. Lockdown restrictions to contain the spread of Covid-19 caused the shutdown of industries and restaurants and the decline in food demand.

He said the vouchers could be issued individually to frontliners, such as the military, police, and barangay officials or may be coursed through local government units (LGUS) which would purchase locally produced food.

Fausto also said the government could accredit or certify certain businesses that are selling locally produced food and agricultural commodities where the voucher could be used.

Under the Bayanihan 2 Act, the DA has an allocation of P24 billion. Of the amount, the DA is eyeing to use P4 billion for the provision of food subsidy worth P5,000 to over 800,000 farmers and fishermen.

Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said P3,000 of the food subsidy would be given in cash while the P2,000 would be in the form of chicken and rice which is expected to help ease the glut in poultry supply (See “DA chief urges LGUS to include dressed chicken in relief packs,” in the Businessmirror, August 28, 2020).

“It is only right to provide vouchers to our frontliners who are doing their best during this pandemic and sacrificing their lives for us. The government has a ‘Plant, Plant, Plant’ program, but we do not have demand right now, hence, we need a ‘buy, buy, buy’ program,” Fausto told the Businessmirror on Sunday.

“It is wrong to give the farmers the food subsidy. What you need to give them is subsidized inputs. On the other end, the government must stimulate demand in order for farmers to have an available market for their produce,” he added.

Fausto said the government should also consider giving food vouchers to the middle class and workers who lost their job during the pandemic. Citing the latest government data, he noted that about 4.5 million Filipinos are currently unemployed.

The PCAFI chief said the distribution of food vouchers is the “easiest” program to implement this year. The program, he said, will benefit farmers as this would create a steady market for their products.

He also said using the stimulus fund under Bayanihan 2 for infrastructure projects may not be feasible as this would have to go through the bidding process. Bayanihan 2 is in force and in effect until December 31.