Independent senatorial candidate Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson wants Filipinos to view agriculture as a major high-tech driver of food security and economic growth, and not as a backward sector for “poor” farmers.
Lacson said this is why he is preparing legislation that will prepare young Filipinos to take up agriculture and eventually make the Philippines a food-secure and agriculture exporting country, should he return to the Senate.
“We need to change our mindset. We must look at agriculture as high-tech and not the traditional image of a farmer manually tilling the land with a carabao. That is a very outdated impression of agriculture,” he said.
“In Europe, farmers become wealthy because of agriculture. It may be only in the Philippines where farmers are associated with poverty,” he added.
Related: Ping Lacson, Nais Baguhin ang Pananaw sa Agrikultura: ‘High-Tech,’ Hindi ‘Paurong’
Lacson said he is laying the foundation for this by adding to his prospective legislative priorities a “Kabataang Magsasaka” bill that provides scholarships to poor but deserving youths, especially children of farmers.
The bill aims to expose scholars of agricultural courses to new technology and equipment in agriculture so they can learn to harness them.
One institute offering masteral courses that feature biotechnology is the University of the Philippines in Los Banos (UPLB), whose National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (BIOTECH) was able to procure modern, state-of-the-art equipment due to the yearly increases in its budget stemming from institutional amendments Lacson introduced to the national budget.
Aside from this, Lacson said this will make the Philippines an agriculture exporting country and make it more competitive in free trade agreements.
“We must prepare our farmers to become competitive in agriculture so that in free trade, we can export instead of just importing agricultural products without getting anything in return,” he stressed.
*****
Ping Lacson, Nais Baguhin ang Pananaw sa Agrikultura: ‘High-Tech,’ Hindi ‘Paurong’
Nais baguhin ni independent senatorial candidate Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson ang pananaw ng Pilipino sa agrikultura – bilang high-tech na susi para sa food security at paglago ng ating ekonomiya, at hindi paurong na sektor para sa mga “mahihirap” na magsasaka.
Ani Lacson, ito ang dahilan kung bakit naghahanda na siya ng mga panukala kung sakaling makabalik siya sa Senado, na himukin ang kabataan na mag-aral ng agrikultura para gawing food-secure at agriculture exporting country ang Pilipinas.
“Baguhin natin ang mindset. Gawin nating medyo high-tech ang pagsasaka, hindi ang all traditional na may araro at kalabaw, napagiwanan na tayo doon,” ani Lacson.
“Sa Europe pag magsasaka mayaman, sa atin lang associated sa kahirapan,” dagdag niya.
Ito ang dahilan kung bakit naghahanda na para dito si Lacson sa pamamagitan ng pagdagdag sa kanyang legislative priorities ng panukalang batas para sa “Kabataang Magsasaka” na magbibigay ng scholarship sa mahihirap nguni’t karapat-dapat na kabataan, lalo na ang mga anak ng magsasaka.
Layunin ng panukala ang matuklasan ng mga iskolar ng agricultural courses ang mga bagong teknolohiya at gamit sa agrikultura, at paano ito gamitin.
Isa sa mga institusyon na may masteral courses para sa biotechnology ay ang University of the Philippines in Los Banos (UPLB). Ang UPLB National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (BIOTECH) ay may moderno at state-of-the-art na gamit dahil sa dagdag na budget galing sa institutional amendments ni Lacson sa pambansang budget.
Bukod dito, ang ganitong panukala ay magiging susi sa pagiging agriculture exporting country ng Pilipinas, para maging competitive ito sa free trade.
“Kailangang i-prepare natin ang kababayan natin para makapag-compete sa agrikultura para pag free trade, maka-export tayo, hindi import ng import na wala tayong makuhang buwis,” ani Lacson.
*****