Farmer tells BBM to allocate P100-B additional DA funds to ‘corporate farmers’

KA MON. Mr. President now I must have to tell you that DA Policies and Program are floating on infirmities since EDSA. Now I hear that you are looking at appointing a former politician as DA secretary. It will not also solve the problem.

PBBM: Looks like you know something I do not know.

KA MON: Sir, we must now accept the fact that with our very high cost of energy' no investor will put up a factory in the Philippines. But if we organize corporate farmers they can put up and operate their own factories because we can control our supply chain and produce renewable energy needed to reduce the unit cost of our production and be globally competitive. This means that the processing plants must also be owned by the planters. Simple economics tells us that for competitiveness you cannot separate the two.

PBBM: How then can we do that with the millions of farmers?

KA MON: Simple, Sir. You need not listen to alleged experts who have been in high positions before but were not able to prepare our country to the World Trade Organization regime. They are the culprits of why we are now left behind in ASIAN Agriculture. Through an executive order, you can ALLOCATE TO OUR CORPORATE FARMER PROJECTS THE P 100- B added to your budget. This is where it should go and not multiplying the budget of DA Banner programs that failed since EDSA 1.

PBBM: And so how can I respond to the diatribes of Sen. HONTIVEROS?

KA MON: Easy Mr. President. You just have to issue an EO giving the monopoly of supplying sugar for industry and consumers to sugar planter federations. And do the same for onion growers and garlic growers to supply the whole country of their produce and provide them the needed storage and logistic facilities. It's just like your father’s tobacco monopoly to favor our Ilocano farmers. Besides, it’s about time to review our eventual exit from the WTO just like the Brexit