Magsaysay cites role of journalists in agri dev’t

Sen. Ramon Magsaysay Jr. cited the important role of agricultural journalists in promoting agricultural development even as he expressed his willingness to support the Philippine Agricultural Journalist Inc. (PAJ) in puring its various agricultural advocacy projects.

Magsaysay, chairman of the Senate committee on agriculture and food, was the guest of honor and speaker during the Binhi Awards and 30th anniversary celebration of PAJ, headed by its president Sanny Galvez of Manila Bulletin, held recently at Camelot Hotel auditorium in Quezon City.

"Through the years, your noble work of disseminating major breakthroughs and developments transpiring in the agriculture and fisheries sectors have been instrumental in improving the productivity, profitability, and competitiveness of its stakeholders," Magsaysay said in his message.

"Your constant reportage of balanced news and well-researched features has served as an eye-opener for the government to act and address the various problems facing the agriculture sector, the environment, and the nation as a whole," the senator added.

Magsaysay also lauded the contributions of agricultural journalists in the legislative processes particularly in crafting of bills and resolutions to be deliberated by concerned committees in Congress specifically the agriculture and food.

"I look upon the agricultural journalists as vital partners in my pursuit to pass legislative measures and resolutions that could bring about a robust agriculture sector that serves as the strongest foundation of our economy," he said.

The senator urged agricultural journalists to help the agriculture sector know what crops to produce and help them look for markets for their products. He asked them to help develop and strengthen market linkages between farmers and big food processors like the San Miguel Corp. and the FM.

He cited as an example the Mama Sita Foods which needs some 40 metric tons of calamansi a month for its food processing business aside from other high-value crops.

Magsaysay likewise encouraged agricultural journalists to also write about agricultural development in other countries like Thailand and China. This, he said, could give opportunities for our farmers to learn new technology that helped other countries improve their agricultural productivity. The agriculture and fisheries sector would also be informed on what crops or products are highly in demand and can be exported to foreign countries.

PAJ is an association of agriculture editors and reporters from the print and broadcast media, as well as information writers from government and private institutions involved in agriculture.