Agencies, LGUs can now buy food directly from farmers

MANILA, Philippines — National government agencies and local government units (LGUs) can now directly buy food from farmers and farmers’ organizations for relief operations, Sen. Francis Pangilinan said yesterday.

The senator, himself a small-scale vegetable farmer, said the Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) in a circular approved the procedure for implementation during the enhanced community quarantine period.

He said he is constantly in touch with the Department of Agriculture and the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines in institutionalizing a mechanism for LGUs “to go directly and purchase directly through negotiated contracts with farmers’ organizations for produce which they need as they monitor the enhanced quarantine in Luzon and other areas.”

He said the system will also get rid of the middlemen who purchase the farmers’ produce at lower prices yet sell them high in the commercial market.

“Government is stepping in. Before, our farmers are held by their throats by traders and middlemen. But now, with government coming in and needing these agricultural products whether it’s livestock, whether it’s chicken, pork, or agricultural products, rice, they will get it at a negotiated price or a fair market price,” Pangilinan said.

Under Section 6 of the GPPB circular, the barangay captain can certify that one is a bona fide farmer in the area and that certification will be enough basis for a purchase contract for the procurement entity with either the LGU or the DA for their purchase of products.

Vegetables and farm supplies have become part of the relief packs being distributed by some LGUs among their constituents amid the quarantine period.

Pangilinan said as COVID-19 slowly creeps into communities, food has never been more important in securing the health and safety of families.

He said Filipino farmers can help stave off a pandemic-related food crisis in the country as a result of the COVID-19 lockdown in many parts of the world.

He said government intervention should always be in place to allow farmers and agricultural workers to continue their work and to provide channels for marketing their produce to mitigate the risk of food shortage and high prices.

With a support mechanism in place, Pangilinan said farmers will also continue to plant.