Marcos asks Congress to amend Fisheries, Cooperatives codes

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who sits as the concurrent secretary of the Department of Agriculture (DA), is calling on Congress to amend the laws governing fisheries and cooperatives in the Philippines.

In his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, July 24, Marcos emphasized that the government’s quest for food security is guided by “science and the balance of nature,” in a bid to make food production “both sustainable and responsible, benefiting both this and future generations.”

With this, the President said, “Our Fisheries Code must be revisited to incorporate and strengthen science-based analysis and determination of fishing areas.”

“This approach will protect both the interests of our fisherfolk and our fisheries and aquatic resources,” he said.

The Republic Act No. 8550 or The Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998 provides rules for the utilization, management, development, conservation, and allocation systems of fisheries and aquatic resources.

“To this end, we will seek the support of Congress to amend the Code to guarantee sustainable development of our fisheries sector in harmony with environmental balance,” Marcos said.

In his report to the people, the President also stressed the importance of fisheries clustering and livestock multiplier farms.

He said that there are around 300 clusters identified, composed of nearly 900 cooperatives with 200,000 hectares of farmland.

“Upang mas mapabilis at mapadali ang pagbuo ng kooperatiba, kakailanganin natin ang suporta ng Kongreso na maamyendahan ang Cooperative Code,” Marcos said.

(To make the creation of cooperatives faster and easier, we need the support of Congress to amend the Cooperative Code.)

RA 9520 or The Philippine Cooperative Code of 2008 provides that the state shall foster the creation and growth of cooperatives as a practical vehicle for promoting self-reliance and harnessing people's power towards the attainment of economic development and social justice.

In amending the Cooperative Code, Marcos said cooperatives will have stronger production capacity and market force.

Bio-fertilizers

The President said the government is equipping farmers with knowledge on latest technologies and modern farming methods.

“Isa na rito ang paggamit ng bio-fertilizers, na gawa sa Pilipinas at subok din at maa-asahan. Sa balanced fertilizer strategy, gaganda ang ani ng mga magsasaka. Hindi na nila kailangan pang umasa sa mas mahal at imported na fertilizer,” Marcos said.

(One of them is the use of bio-fertilizers, which are made in the Philippines, tried and tested to be reliable. In the balanced fertilizer strategy, farmers’ production will improve. They will no longer rely on more expensive and imported fertilizers.)

“Bilang tulong sa mga magsasaka, namigay ang pamahalaan ng mahigit dalawampu’t walong libong mga makabagong makinarya at mga kagamitan sa iba’t ibang dako ng Pilipinas,” he said.

(To aid farmers, the government distributed over 28,000 modern machinery and equipment all over the Philippines)

The President added that the DA distributed more than five million rice seeds, over one million corn seeds, and various vegetable seeds under the agency’s programs for the sector.

“Nagpamigay tayo ng mahigit isandaang libong binhi ng niyog at nagpatanim sa halos sampunlibong ektarya ng lupa sa buong bansa. Lahat ng mga binhing ito ay makabago, hybrid, at mataas na kalidad,” Marcos said.

“Sa naging pagtaas ng presyo ng gasolina at pataba, nagdala ng kaunting ginhawa ang mga fuel at fertilizer discount vouchers na ating pinamigay sa mga nahirapang magsasaka. Ang mga natanggap nating donasyon na pataba mula sa Tsina, ipinamigay na rin natin agad sa kanila,” he added.

The President said the country’s agriculture sector saw a growth of 2.2% in the first quarter of 2023.

The Philippine Statistics Authority reported that the Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing sector grew by 2.2% in the January to March period.

Value of agricultural production, in particular, amounted to P428.69 billion in the first three months of 2023. —VAL, GMA Integrated News