Senator Cynthia Villar underscored the need to invest in research and development (R&D) to hasten the growth and development of the agriculture sector.
Villar, chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food, stressed that agriculture growth is very important because majority or two-thirds of the population are directly and indirectly involved in agriculture.
Personally and as legislator, Villar said she has always been a firm believer in the importance of R&D. She advocates for the incorporation of R&D in the agriculture sector, which also helps improve agricultural mechanization efforts.
The veteran lawmaker was the guest speaker during the turnover ceremony for decorticating machines. The machines, which are used in the coconut weaving process, will help increase the productivity and income of the farmer-beneficiaries especially the 3.5 million coconut farmers.
“If we address the poverty among the coconut farmers and the rice farmers, I believe it will have a huge impact in improving our country’s poverty level since they compose 90 percent of all our farmers,” said the lady senator.
In the Senate, Villar said they have already passed the Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund bill to safeguard the P100 billion coconut levy funds.
She also guaranteed that the coconut farmers and their families would be the direct beneficiaries of the coco levy funds after resolving this decades-old issue.
“My actions and support are not only through legislation. I also make sure that I have practical approaches that will benefit the poor like these decorticating machine and coco coir processing machine or facility.”
“Of course, that is just one aspect. My actions and support are not only through legislation. I also make sure that I have practical approaches that will benefit the poor like these decorticating machine and coco coir processing machine or facility,” related Villar, who also chairs the Senate environment committee.
Being a social entrepreneur, Villar said she was a proponent of a similar technology which they have been using in Las Piñas City to provide livelihood and augment the income of farmers.
“I know first-hand how technological innovation can improve people’s lives. One of the livelihood programs that I set up through the Villar Social Institute for Poverty Alleviation and Governance (SIPAG) the coconet-weaving enterprise uses the decorticating machine,” she said.
Several years ago, Villar said Las Piñas had a grave problem on flooding due to the trash being dumped into the Las Piñas River. Among the garbage being thrown were coconut husks. The “coconet” weaving enterprise was set up to help in the waste management aside from giving a source of income to residents.
“We extract fiber and coco peat from the coco husks using the decorticating machine. The fiber is used for making coconet that controls erosion in sloping areas or riprap materials.”
“We extract fiber and coco peat from the coco husks using the decorticating machine. The fiber is used for making coconet that controls erosion in sloping areas or riprap materials,” she said.
Coconut dust, on the other hand, is used as a raw material to make organic fertilizer when mixed with household wastes. The fertilizer is then distributed for free to farmers and urban gardeners.
“This is a good example of how a simple invention could be a source of livelihood for many families and how it helped a city get rid of wastes that clog rivers and waterways causing floods,” Villar said.
