Fruit, vegetable farmers must be included in fuel subsidy program – Binay (Sabong News)
Author
Patrick Garcia
Date
APRIL 04 2022
Former Vice President and senatorial aspirant Jejomar Binay called on the national government on Monday, April 4, to ensure that fruits and vegetable farmers are included in its fuel subsidy program as the conflict between Ukraine and Russia is still ongoing.
Binay said this must be done in order to keep food prices in the country affordable.
“Fruit and vegetable farmers have to shoulder higher fuel costs for transporting their products. Sila rin ay umaaray sa taas ng presyo ng gasolina, ngunit hindi sila makapagtaas ng presyo ng produkto nila (They are also feeling the adverse effect of extremely high cost of gasoline, but they cannot increase the prices of their products),” Binay said.
“Government should include them in the fuel subsidy program which is only limited to corn farmers and fisherfolks using motorized bancas,” he added.
The national government has set aside P1.1 billion as fuel subsidy for farmers and fisherfolks.
The former vice president suggested that the government should also expand its programs to buy directly from farmers and shoulder the cost of transportation and delivery.
“Gawin nating isang porma ito ng subsidy, kung saan ang government agencies ang mag-transport at mag-deliver sa mga mamimili imbes na mga middlemen (Let’s make it a form of subsidy wherein government agencies will transport and deliver the products to consumers instead of middlemen),” Binay said.
“Ilan lang ito sa mga paraan para matulungan ang ating mga magsasaka at tiyakin na abot-kaya ang presyo ng pagkain para lahat (These are just some of the ways to help our farmers and ensure that the prices of food products remain affordable for everyone),” he added.
He earlier asked the government to develop alternative and indigenous sources of fertilizers to help farmers maintain or increase their incomes and prevent sudden hikes in food prices.
Fertilizer prices are expected to go up as economic sanctions imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine include ammonia, processed phosphates, and urea. This would, in turn, lead to an increase in the prices of fruits and vegetables grown by local farmers.
