SEN. Bong Go urged the government to expand crop insurance, post-harvest infrastructure, and financing programs to protect the agriculture sector from mounting risks and ensure the country’s food security.
Go, a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, said the country’s food producers continue to face threats from crop failures, livestock diseases, pests, extreme weather events, and other unforeseen circumstances that endanger their livelihood and disrupt food production.
“The stomach of every Filipino is important. We need to take care of our farmers and fishermen because they are the ones who provide food for our tables. When they are affected, every Filipino family feels it too,” Go said.
Go said that Senate Bill (SB) 673, or the proposed Full Crop Insurance Coverage for Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Act, which he filed, seeks to grant free crop insurance to agrarian reform beneficiaries cultivating five hectares or less of agricultural land.
Under the bill, qualified farmers would receive insurance coverage against losses caused by typhoons, floods, droughts, pests, plant diseases, and other unforeseen events, allowing them to recover more quickly and resume agricultural production after disasters.
