AGRI Party-list Rep. Wilbert T. Lee called on the House leadership to provide an additional P521-M in the budget of the Department of Agriculture (DA) in House Bill No. 4488 or the General Appropriations Bill (GAB) to streamline the effectiveness of the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA).
In his letter to the Committee on Appropriations, Lee sought more funding for the targeted activities of the RSBSA such as the complete profiling of farmers and fisherfolks, georeferencing of 846,000 hectares on top of the approved 353,800 hectares, and upgrading of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) network.
Prior to this, Lee inquired about the need to digitize RSBSA for the faster and more accurate encoding of information in the database.
“It is crucial that farmers and fisherfolks register to the RSBSA so they can access DA’s services. Sa pag-iikot ko sa mga probinsya, isa ito sa laging reklamo ng mga magsasaka. Kung hindi mali ang datos, yung iba, sa tagal man ng hinintay sa ayuda, hindi rin pala makakatanggap dahil wala sila sa listahan o hindi magkapareho yung nasa RSBSA sa listahan ng munisipyo,” Lee said.
“The requested additional amount is needed to complete the integration of other agri-fishery databases, such as the National Coconut Farmers Registry of the Philippine Coconut Authority and the Municipal Fisherfolk Registry of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources,” he added.
During Lee’s interpellation on the proposed 2023 budget of the DA, the agency confirmed that farmers and fisherfolks must be registered to the RSBSA to receive their ayuda from the programs of the DA.
According to Lee, the requested increase in funding will also be used to fully integrate RSBSA with other national government agencies for data harmonization purposes such as the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) and the Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).
“Fixing the RSBSA will be essential in ensuring that farmers and fisherfolks even from the most remote regions of our country get the assistance they need especially during these trying times,” Lee stated.
During Lee’s interpellation on the proposed 2023 budget of the DA, the agency confirmed that farmers and fisherfolks must be registered to the RSBSA to receive their ayuda from the programs of the DA.
“Kapag naabot ang mga matagal nang napagkakaitan ng serbisyo, mabibigyan sila ng dahilan para maging produktibo. Tataas ang kanilang kompiyansa, aarangkada ang agrikultura at ekonomiya. Walang maiiwan. Walang dehado. Walang agrabyado. Winner Tayo Lahat,” Lee stated.
Prior to this, Lee inquired about the need to digitize RSBSA for the faster and more accurate encoding of information in the database.
“Sa listahan na ito nakasalalay lahat. So I would really like to work with the DA on this. Ano yung plano ng DA tungkol dito? Magkano ang kailangan para mapabilis at mapaganda ang serbisyo nito?” asked Lee.
“Hindi dapat pinatatagal ang pagsasaayos ng ganito kahalagang mekanismo ng paghahatid ng serbisyo, lalo na sa mga nasa dulo ng ating lipunan. Marami ang patuloy na mapagkakaitan ng mga programang isinusulong mismo ng ating Pangulo para sa agrikultura kung hindi maisasaayos ang RSBSA. Kung may nagpapabaya o naghokus-pokus dito, dapat panagutin. Wala tayong mararating kung kukupad-kupad sa pagpapatupad ng mahahalagang programa,” he added.
