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The representative of the 2nd district of Rizal, Fidel Nograles, on Thursday October 4th called on the Department of Agriculture (DA) to do everything possible to help farmers who end the double tide of twin floods – Typhoon Maring and unchecked vegetable smuggling China – have to absorb.
Nograles said local farmers are in dire economic straits as they continue to suffer the harsh effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“A month ago, our farmers were still struggling with the spread of smuggled vegetables from China. Now their crops have been damaged, if not completely destroyed, by the typhoon. In my opinion, it is right that we allocate funds to help them recover from this situation, â€said Nograles.
Nograles also recalled that the disaster won’t be felt by consumers as vegetable prices rise after typhoons devastated the northern part of the country.
“We have to act quickly. We hope prosecutors can monitor the abuse of some traders at a time like this, â€he added.
The Rizal Solon stated that some middlemen have been known to abuse the situation by buying grain from farmers at very low prices while selling these vegetables at high prices due to the low supply.
“We need to be able to end this unacceptable practice by taking action against abusive dealers. It is high time we showed farmers how important they are and how critical their role will be in the country’s economic recovery from the pandemic, â€said Nograles.
Nograles, a Harvard trained attorney, also noted that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) cited that agriculture in northern Luzon will be a major engine in rebuilding the COVID-19 disrupted economy. Last week, in an online forum, BSP encouraged banks to offer low-interest loans to agriculture.
“No less than our top economic researchers at BSP have recognized the potential in agriculture. Let’s get the Philippine economy to recover quickly by helping Philippine agriculture, typhoon or no typhoon, â€Nograles said.
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