Speaker Dy: Better farmers’ incomes key to food security

Photo from House Speaker Faustino `Bojie’ Dy III Facebook page. MANILA, Philippines — “Food security begins with farmer security,” according to Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III. Dy made that remark part of his message on Tuesday at the meeting convening farmers’ and irrigators’ associations for the Sagip Saka Program at Rangie’s Villa in San Miguel, Bulacan. The message was delivered on his behalf by Bulacan 2nd District Rep. Augustina Dominique “Ditse Tina” C. Pancho, a member of the House Committee on Agriculture. Article continues after this advertisement “If we want a stable food supply, we must first make the livelihoods of our farmers stable,” Dy said, as he reiterated the House of Representatives’ support for stronger farmers’ and irrigators’ associations and the Sagip Saka Program. Dy stressed that improving agricultural productivity must go hand in hand with ensuring that farmers have reliable markets for their produce. “A farmer may have good land, sufficient water, and a good harvest, but if that farmer cannot find a fair and reliable market, his earnings will still be insufficient,” he said. “And this is where Sagip Saka becomes especially important. The program helps bring government and institutional buyers closer to our farmers and their organizations. It gives farmers an opportunity to become not simply producers, but stronger participants in the agricultural value chain.” READ: Dy backs better crop insurance, zero interest loans for farmers Article continues after this advertisement ‘We want to do more’ Citing figures from the Department of Agriculture, Dy said 13,656 registered enterprises were involved in the implementation of the Sagip Saka Act, with procurement awards reaching ₱2.92 billion. “But we want to do more. Our objective is not just better productivity; our goal is better incomes for our farmers,” he said. Article continues after this advertisement Agriculture is particularly close to the heart of the Dy, the former governor of Isabela, one of the country’s major agricultural provinces. Among the first groups he invited and received in his office after assuming the House leadership was a group of farmers so that he could hear firsthand their experiences, needs, and proposals. He said the House takes agricultural spending seriously because agriculture affects not only food production but also jobs, livelihoods, and food prices. The proposed 2027 budget for the Department of Agriculture and its attached corporations, he noted, stands at about ₱198.4 billion, covering programs for production, farm mechanization, post-harvest facilities, market access, crop protection, and livestock development, among others. “The House will make sure that every peso allocated for agriculture will be used properly and will result in concrete benefits for our farmers,” Dy said. READ: Marcos, Dy push farm productivity with new Isabela agri projects “We want agricultural spending to be felt not only in reports and statistics, but in higher yields, lower production costs, better market access and larger incomes for farming families.” He also emphasized the importance of irrigators’ associations, noting that only 2.2 million hectares out of an estimated 3.13 million hectares of irrigable land were being served by irrigation systems as of the end of 2025. According to him, strong farmers’ and irrigators’ organizations are crucial to making Sagip Saka work because “organized farmers have a stronger voice, greater bargaining power, better access to government support, and more opportunities to sell directly to buyers.” Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again. Your subscription has been successful. “We want to reduce the distance between the farm and the market. And ultimately, we want farming to become a profitable and sustainable livelihood,” he said. /atm