“Population growth is 1 percent every year, that is two million additional Filipinos, so agriculture has to grow by at least 1.6 percent, preferably 2 percent or more, otherwise we cannot feed our own people and we will be relying on imports and the price will go up.” Chua said during a panel discussion on Wednesday.“Every month, we review Train Law, so the Rice Tariffication Law needs to be reviewed as well to see if it is implemented properly,”“Ang pangako lang namin , P7, but it’s even more.
In order to improve farming efficiency, the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund provides P10 billion financial aids to around 2.5 million Filipino farmers. The aid needs to be spent for mechanization, productive seeds, items that improve farming productivity. “We provide P10 billion a year, guaranteed to help our farmers compete. ‘Pag lagpas P10 billion ang tariffication, lahat ‘yan mapupunta sa farmers.” Chua ended.