Legarda’s Local Harvest Support Act protects farmers’ livelihoods, ensures food supply

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Loren Legarda has filed a bill seeking to strengthen food security and protect the livelihoods of farmers and fisherfolk amid rising fuel costs and prices of basic goods.

Legarda filed Senate Bill No. 2051, or the proposed Local Harvest Support Act of 2026, which would institutionalize a “local first” procurement policy for government entities.

“When farm produce and fish catch prices fall, farmers and fisherfolk are the first to suffer. Through the Local Harvest Support Act, we will ensure they have stable income and every family has nutritious food,” Legarda said in Filipino.

Under the bill, local government units, state universities and colleges, public schools and government hospitals would be required to source most of their food requirements directly from farmers and fisherfolk, bypassing middlemen and ensuring stable demand.

The measure requires government entities to source at least 80 percent of food requirements from rural or nearby areas and 60 percent in highly urbanized areas, with limited waivers down to 40 percent if logistical hardships are proven.

Legarda cited cases of farmers and fisherfolk struggling with rising costs and falling prices, including mango growers in Ilocos Norte facing high fuel expenses, tamban fishers in Sorsogon seeing prices collapse, and vegetable farmers in Benguet selling produce below production cost.

“During market gluts, the government can directly purchase produce so farmers and fisherfolk do not incur losses. In this way, food can immediately reach schools, hospitals and communities,” she said in Filipino.

The bill also grants the Department of Agriculture authority to conduct “rescue buy” operations during oversupply, allowing it to purchase produce at sustainable prices and redirect them to buffer stocks, disaster response and feeding programs.

Transactions will be conducted through negotiated procurement under the Sagip Saka framework, enabling direct deals with local producers without public bidding.

The Department of Agriculture will also issue an annual National Agricultural Proximity Map to guide procurement entities on sourcing requirements based on location.

Legarda said the measure is expected to channel billions of pesos in government spending directly into rural communities while ensuring fresher and more nutritious food for beneficiaries such as students and hospital patients.

The bill builds on the Sagip Saka Act and recent executive policies on direct procurement but seeks to institutionalize sourcing thresholds and strengthen compliance mechanisms.

“Under this law, the basis for rescue-buy operations and the steps to be taken are clear. There will be no reason for the government response to be slow during crises or disasters,” Legarda said.