I am Bryan, 23-years old, from the Philippines. I am the eldest son of a farming family. My mother Maricel has been a widow for 14 years now. She tills two hectares of rice farm.
In 2018, we joined the DICADI Agriculture Cooperative (DACO). For more than a year now, I have been a volunteer worker in the cooperative. As a member of DACO, I attend meetings and work in a production cluster. These exposures made me realize that farmers are a dying breed.
Most farmers discourage their children to go into farming because of the difficulties it entails.
I consider three challenges in agriculture and food security that are needed to be addressed by the government: the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL), youth involvement in agriculture, availability of agricultural land, and upholding the tenurial rights of young farmers. These are my recommended solutions for these challenges:
- Repel RTL- rice as the staple food of the Filipinos must be secured by the Filipinos themselves
- Enact HB 1997 Magna Carta of Young Farmers and HB 5280-Young Farmers Challenge Act
- Pass the National Land Use Act (NLUA)
It is my right and responsibility to advocate for the resolution of agriculture concerns.
If these recommendations are approved, I will devote my future to feeding the nation.
Karl Bryan Espiritu
Philippines
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