Solon: Agrarian reform success needs better earning farmers
A neophyte solon said farming should be a viable livelihood in order for the farmers to retain their lands.
In a statement, AGRI Party-list Representative Wilbert T. Lee said the poor farming system and low income prompted most of the agrarian reform beneficiaries to sell the land they acquired.
“Naiintindihan natin ang pangamba ng ating mga civil society organizations (CSOs), ngunit bilang principal author ng New Agrarian Emancipation Act, nais kong klaruhin na ang layunin ng batas na ito ay bigyan ng sapat na suporta ang ating mga magsasaka para ang pagsasaka ay maging kumikitang kabuhayan para sa kanila, nang sa gayon ay hindi sila mamuhay na isang kahig, isang tuka,” Lee said.
Lee was reacting to fears expressed by CSOs that the more than half a million beneficiaries of the New Agrarian Emancipation Act would sell the land they have been tilling for decades after they acquire the titles and once the 10-year prohibition of selling the land is over.
Republic Act (RA) No. 11953 or the New Agrarian Emancipation Act, signed by President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. last Friday, condones an estimated ?57.56 billion in unpaid amortization amounts, interest payments, surcharges, and penalties of existing loans of some 610,054 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) secured under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), repealing Section 26 of RA No. 6657, as amended, Section 6 of EO No. 228, series of 1987, as well as the pertinent provisions of other agrarian laws.
Lee said extending adequate support to farmers is vital as the country’s growing population requires the government to increase agriculture productivity to ensure food security.
