By: PR (PNA)
MANILA — Ifugao Representative Teddy Brawner Baguilat called for increased investments in agriculture development and climate change adaptation and mitigation, as the economy continues to be battered by adverse effects of natural disasters.
In a statement on Thursday, the lawmaker noted that such disasters have weakened the farming sector.
The ill effects of natural disasters, such as the recent typhoons on the farming sector, particularly in northern Luzon, were partly blamed for the slower growth in the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
For the third quarter of 2018, the GDP slowed down to 6.1 percent from 6.2 percent the previous quarter and 7.2 percent in the same quarter last year, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) have shown.
The weakness of the agriculture sector was confirmed by the lower-than-expected third-quarter growth, said Baguilat.
As such, he said, economic managers, particularly the Department of Agriculture (DA), should pursue more urgency measures to boost agriculture output and adapt to climate change.
These, he cited, include investments in irrigation and watershed protection, given that the Philippines was identified as among the most vulnerable to climate change, marked by the possibility of more frequent and stronger typhoons and more pronounced and longer droughts.
He said these, in turn, will hamper economic growth over the long term.
“No real economic growth is possible if sustainable development goals are not equally observed. What sense is profit if people and the planet are left behind?,” Baguilat pointed out.
“But with strategic and increased investments in critical watersheds, for example, the Philippines will be assured of water supply to urban cities and critical farmland. Deadly landslides and siltation will also be minimized. Destroy the watersheds and we end up losing critical water sources and eventually, our agriculture sector will suffer even more,” he added.
“This means that the productivity of our already vulnerable fishermen and fisherfolk will dwindle and keep them in the grip of poverty. We cannot have that. They are already the most affected by rising food prices. We should do all we can to boost that farm output to keep prices down and increase the revenues of our food producers,” he said.
For the longer term, Baguilat called for the passage of the long-delayed National Land Use Act (NLUA) and the Indigenous Communities Conservation Areas to ensure that prime agricultural land will not be reduced to give way to runaway urbanization and that indigenous peoples’ cultural practices, as they relate to agriculture and the environment, will be protected.
Baguilat is a principal author of both NLUA and ICCA.
“We should prioritize food security and protect the land that we already have. As it is, we are already hard-pressed to produce enough food to feed our growing population. We cannot afford to reduce that even further. WIth the National Land Use Act, there will be proper delineation of areas for agriculture and for other development purposes,” he said.
