AGRICULTURAL MODERNIZATION KEY TO FOOD SECURITY- ANGARA

Senator Edgardo J. Angara told the government to prioritize agricultural modernization in the 2012 national budget, stressing that this would not only ensure food security but also provide the most effective weapon against hunger and poverty.

"Food security and sufficiency cannot be achieved if we do not invest heavily in agriculture. We have to make our agriculture sector more productive to meet the increasing demands of our people," said Angara, a former Agriculture Secretary.

"Because of chronic under-investment in agriculture infrastructure, we suffer high costs of feeds, animal stocks, processing, and transport and distribution from the farm to major market outlets, to name a few. This erodes the country's overall competitiveness and food security," he added.

Angara said the poor state of agriculture not only prevents us from achieving food security, but from taking full advantage of the potential gains from our agricultural lands on which one-third of the country's labor force rely.

"The Philippine farmlands not only have a huge potential in feeding our people, but in meeting the food demands of other countries as well," Angara said.

Angara has long been an advocate of agriculture modernization in the country, having served as the secretary of the Department of Agriculture 1999 to 2001. He also authored the landmark laws Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act (AFMA) and the Agriculture Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (ACEF).