NEDA Endorses Cong Toff’s Magna Carta of Young Farmers

Rep. Christopher "Toff" De Venecia of Pangasinan’s 4th District was elated over NEDA’s endorsement for the immediate passage of his house bill, the Magna Carta of Young Farmers, which is aimed at recognizing, protecting, fulfilling, and promoting the well-being of young farmers, aged 15 to 35. “I strongly believe that the government should encourage young people to engage in agriculture by establishing mechanisms for the promotion and protection of their rights, given the fact that the average age of Filipino farmers is 57-59 years old,” he said.
Acknowledging the endorsement of NEDA to his bill, he said, “I thank the NEDA (National Economic and Development Authority) for lending its gravitas to this cause, and for its high-level advice to my fellow policy makers to pass the Magna Carta of Young Farmers immediately.” As the country’s premier socioeconomic planning body, NEDA is considered the authority in macroeconomic forecasting and policy, analysis and research.
During its recent briefing in Congress in line with the medium term socioeconomic blueprint, the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2017-2022, NEDA Deputy Director General Rosemarie G. Edillon has eyed at least a dozen bills, including the Magna Carta of Young Farmers as priority legislations in the last three years of the Duterte administration to boost economic growth.
The Magna Carta of Young Farmers recognizes the strategic role of young farmers by providing a policy framework that will afford them a sense of pride so that they will opt to stay in the farms, make a decent living from agriculture and secure the food sufficiency of the country. Furthermore, it is designed to strengthen existing and state-of-the-art farming activities, and provide incentives that will encourage the young agricultural graduates to venture into agriculture and become ‘agri-preneurs’. The bill also proposes how the young farmers and fishers will gain access to market, prices, services provided by the government, and new technologies such as online businesses, telecommuting and online procurement. It will also institutionalize young farmers’ representation in various decision-making and agricultural policy-making bodies initiated by the government and private entities to fully realize their roles as agents and partners for development.
The bill was first filed in the House of Representatives by Congressman De Venecia in the 17th Congress. He refiled the said measure in the present Congress, with renewed hope and energy that it will pass. The bill is widely supported by various stakeholders, NGOs like Task Force Mapalad (TFM) KATARUNGAN, Pambansang Kilusan ng mga Samahang Magsasaka (PAKISAMA), Asian Farmers’ Association (AFA), a network of various farmers’ organizations across 10 Asian countries, and the Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development Foundation, Inc. (PLCPD), among others. The house bill, Magna Carta of Young Farmers has been included in the agenda of PLCPD of which Rep. De Venecia was recently elected as Treasurer and part of the Board of Directors for the 18th Congress.