TO lower production costs and clip soaring food prices, the government and private sector must build more post-harvest facilities, according to AGRI Party-list Rep. Wilbert Lee as he underscored the need to provide farmers more post-harvest facilities like cold storage.

Lee renewed his call for additional post-harvest facilities after the remarks of Ramon Silverio, Chairman of the Kaakibat Provincial Cooperative Council, during the briefing of the House Committee on Agriculture and Food on the state of the country’s onion industry.

“Sana po pagdating naman ng anihan, doon sa pagbebenta naman ng produkto, dapat po matulungan din ninyo po kami kung paano. Ang nangyayari po kasi, maganda ang programa sa production, pagdating sa marketing, parang wala ho atang programa para sa magsasaka. Dapat malagyan na po kaagad ng cold storage para naman po meron namang karapatan ang magsasaka na magtakda ng presyo ng kanilang ani,” Silverio told the House panel.

In last year’s budget deliberation, Lee pointed out that not enough agricultural products reach the market due to extremely high post-harvest losses and lack of post-harvest facilities.

He also reiterated the need to restrategize the country’s agriculture value chain to ensure that products have a direct link to markets and consumers.

This 19th Congress, Lee filed House Bill No. 3958 or the “Post-Harvest Facilities Support Act” compelling the government to construct and provide post-harvest facilities across the country, especially in agricultural areas, to lower post-harvest production losses and increase the income of agriculture workers.

Under the 2023 National Budget, P48.23 billion was allocated for pre-harvest activities while P17.14 billion was alloted for post-harvest facilities and services. A big chunk of the budget for post-harvest facilities this year will be implemented by the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech).

According to Lee, he personally met and talked to PhilMech Director Dr. Dionisio Alvindia during last year’s budget briefing and in several occasions to reiterate the need to expeditiously provide more support to post-harvest facilities, to which the latter agreed and committed to implement.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Jester P. Manalastas