FILE PHOTO: Members of the fisherfolk group Pamalakaya stage a protest in front of the Department of Agriculture building in Quezon City. Photo from Pamalakaya Pilipinas
MANILA, Philippines — A fisherfolk group on Tuesday urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to focus on low productivity in the rural sector, saying the farm-to-market road masterplan is not the only solution to the country’s supply chain problem.
Marcos Jr. previously said that farm-to-market road programs, which include the construction of farm-to-market roads, would be among his top priorities as a concurrent Agriculture Secretary.
But the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya (Pamalakaya) asserted that instead of building roads, the government should redirect its attention to creating programs that would support the local producers in the country.
READ: Bongbong Marcos orders DA: Create farm-to-market road masterplan
“Anong silbi ng farm-to-market roads kung wala namang produktong maibabyahe dahil bagsak ang produksyon ng mga mangingisda’t magsasaka dulot ng taas-presyo ng mga gastusin?” Pamalakaya spokesperson Ronnel Arambulo asked in a statement.
(What’s the use of farm-to-market roads if there are no products that can be transported because of the low production of fishers and farmers brought about by the price increase in expenses?)
“Hindi kalsada at imprastraktura ang solusyon para makamit ang seguridad sa pagkain ng bansa kundi suporta sa mga lumilikha ng pagkain,” he further lamented.
(Roads and infrastructure are not the solutions to achieving food security in the country but rather support for food producers.)
Arambulo added that “a significant number of the rural population employed in the fishery and agriculture have left their farmlands and fishing grounds due to high cost of production prompted by expensive fuel.”
In the fishing sector, fuel consumes almost 80 percent of the production cost in a small-scale fishing operation, the Pamalakaya spokesperson noted.
Marcos Jr. earlier said that the farm-to-market road master plan includes regional maps that will specify the exact locations of the farm-to-market roads that will be constructed. — Nicole Faye Agcaoili, INQUIRER.net intern
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