Former Senator and agriculture advocate Francis Pangilinan urged the government and various organizations to fully support family farming to achieve resilient food systems in the Philippines. During his talk in the latest installment of SEARCA’s Agriculture and Development Seminar Series (ADSS), the former lawmaker stressed out the vital role of family farming in achieving food security and sustaining agricultural productivity.
According to Pangilinan, there are necessary intervention to strengthen family farms in the country that include: adapting a clustering system; infrastructure development, investing in post-harvest facilities; and market and credit access for farmers. He also emphasized the need for the proper implementation of policies like the “Sagip Saka Law” that aims to transition traditional farmers to farmer-entrepreneurs, moving away from subsistence farming to enterprise management and development. Pangilinan also encouraged the youth to engage in agriculture to achieve food sufficiency and resiliency in the country.
The hybrid event was open to the public and was attended by students, educators, researchers, and organizations in the field of agriculture and food security. Watch the full webinar at SEARCA official Facebook page.