Villar: Release P20B for aid to farmers

from Malaya

http://www.malaya.com.ph/03052010/metro6.html

NACIONALISTA Party standard bearer Manny Villar yesterday called for the immediate release of the P20-billion Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act fund to help ease the plight of farmers affected by the severe dry spell.

"We need to focus on agriculture. Seventy percent of poor Filipinos are engaged in agriculture. We need to work double time on agriculture because the government had been remiss in providing the necessary support," he said during dzBB’s presidential interview "Ikaw na Ba?"

He said part of the P20 billion can be used for emergency assistance loans to farmers affected by El Niño.

Villar had earlier emphasized the need for safety nets in the agriculture sector.

"Farmers bear the brunt of the El Niño phenomenon. Part of the safety nets we propose for the agriculture sector is an emergency fund to ease the burden of lost income for farmers resulting from the drought," Villar said.

He said the fund should be disbursed to affected areas like Northern Luzon and Mindanao through government financial institutions like the Social Security System and Land Bank of the Philippines, as well as accredited cooperatives and NGOs.

Villar said the GFIs should also open special lending facilities for affected farmers.

"These lending institutions must be able to provide loans to cover whatever commercial obligations the farmers have incurred as a result of harvest losses from the severe dry conditions under less stringent conditions and more lenient payment terms," he said.