Labor groups support PCCI’s call to further develop agriculture
By John Victor D. Ordoñez, Reporter
THE PHILIPPINE government should develop and modernize the agriculture sector to create more sustainable jobs and avoid any chance of overlooking the welfare and interest of farmers, labor groups said over the weekend.
“We are an agricultural country, and focusing our country’s efforts to modernize and make the sector competitive will redound not only to generating more jobs and enhancing food security but more importantly to sustaining the economic growth of the country,” Renato B. Magtubo, chairman of Partidong Manggagawa, said in a Viber message.
He said the state should partner with the private sector to provide technical and financial support to these local farmers.
Last week, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) said the government should develop the agriculture and aquatic sectors to provide more job opportunities for Filipinos.
“On the side of food security, we need to have more people in the agriculture and aquatic sectors. The market is there. That would give job opportunities. Another is education. I am optimistic. The vision is achievable,” PCCI president George T. Barcelon said during the first day of the 49th Philippine Business Conference and Expo (PBC&E) in Manila on Wednesday.
Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa secretary-general Josua T. Mata said the PCCI’s proposal should not prioritize corporate interests over farmers and small-scale fisherfolk.
“The crisis in our agricultural sector is rooted in the government’s long neglect of the sector,” he said in a Viber message.
“Meanwhile, rather than support small-scale fishers, family farms, and cooperatives, the government keeps prioritizing the corporatization of agriculture,” he added.
The Philippine unemployment rate in August hit a three-month low of 4.4% from 4.8% a month earlier, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
Job quality improved that month as the underemployment rate — a measure of workers seeking additional hours or an additional job — decreased to 11.7% from 15.89% in July. This was also lower than the 14.7% from a year earlier.
Agriculture and forestry drove the month-on-month improvement in employment that month, with the sector posting an increase of 1.97 million employees.
Jose “Sonny” G. Matula, president of the Federation of Free Workers, also supported the PCCI’s call but said agricultural workers should not be paid less than those in other sectors.
“Limited access to financing, poor rural infrastructure, and the challenges posed by climate extremes have also hindered capital formation in agriculture, negatively impacting overall productivity in the sector,” he said in a Viber message.
“A robust agricultural sector also serves as a catalyst for the growth of food manufacturing, generating numerous decent jobs within the industrial landscape,” he added.
