NFA Council grants voting rights for farmer representative

THE NFA COUNCIL, the policy-making body of the National Food Authority with the legal capacity and authority to exercise all corporate powers, approved during its regular meeting in March a onevote right for the body’s farmer representative.

This is in compliance with RA 7606 or the Magna Carta of Small Farmers that mandates the inclusion of a farmer representative in the NFA Board.

With the approval of the farmer- representative’s voting rights, the NFA Council members with one voting right each is now composed of representatives from NFA Management, Department of Trade and Industry ( DTI) , Department of Finance ( DOF), Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas ( BSP), Land Bank of the Philippines ( LBP), Development Bank of the Philippines ( DBP), Office of the President ( OP), National Economic and Development Authority ( NEDA), one appointive director, and the farmer sector representative.

The NFA Council is currently chaired by the Secretary of the Presidential Assistant for Food Security and Agricultural Modernization (OPAFSAM) with the Administrator of the National Food Authority (NFA) as Vice-Chairman.

“That one vote for our farmers is a milestone in our efforts to include the voice of the sector that is greatly affected by the policies decided upon by this body,” NFA Administrator Renan Dalisay said.

Mr. Edwin Paraluman, the current farmer representative to the NFA Council, welcomes this change with great optimism. “This could pave way for policy decisions that could better represent the needs and concerns of our farmers and agricultural workers and we are grateful to the current members of the NFA Council,” Paraluman said.