EDITORIAL

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THE RECENT pronouncement of President Duterte against Bombay money lenders and other loan sharks put the spotlight on small-time entrepreneurs such as sari-sari store and carinderia owners, market and ambulant vendors, among others. But there is one neglected sector that badly needs financial rescue, too – our farmers and agrarian reform beneficiaries.
The agriculture sector is crucial for attaining economic development and the country’s food sufficiency target but various challenges face the sector, one of which is financing. A law was actually enacted to address this – Republic Act 10000 or the Agri-Agra Reform Credit Act of 2009. Obviously, this law is not being implemented thoroughly, or is even ignored.
Our aim is to support our farmers by allowing them to expand their livelihood, improve their equipment and increase crop production through the Agri-Agra Law, which will secure constant harvest and will decrease our dependence on imported rice, vegetables and produce from other countries. If only we implemented the law strictly, then we can truly help our farmers.
The Agri-Agra Law requires banks to allocate 25 percent of their loanable funds to the agriculture sector to finance the acquisition of work animals, farm equipment or machinery, seeds, fertilizers, livestock, feeds and/or other similar items for farm production. Of the 25 percent, 10 percent should be allocated to agrarian reform beneficiaries and 15 percent to the agriculture sector.
While trainings and capacity-building activities are important, the Department of Agriculture should also focus on providing credit and equipment or shared service facilities for agrarian reform beneficiaries. We should not let the Bombay and other loan sharks take advantage of our poor sector.
Government programs should be those that our people would really feel. Let us give more funds for support services, those programs that will go directly to and immediately benefit our farmers and agrarian reform beneficiaries. Let us not feed them to loan sharks.
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