IN pursuit of promoting the agricultural sector and of sustaining the livelihood of the local farmers, Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo “Pulong” Duterte has filed a bill which seeks to mandate the national and local governments to purchase the farmers’ produce for the proposed mandatory breakfast feeding program in all public schools in the country.
“Farmers serve as the backbone of the country as they play the critical role of ensuring food security, but despite their invaluable contribution, most of them still fall below the poverty line and worse, the nation continues to witness the local farmers’ excess agricultural produce go to waste and remain unutilized,” Duterte explained.
House Bill No. 9331 also known as the School Feeding Purchased from Local Farmers Program Act of 2023 aims to provide free food for children in public schools and day care centers from products of farmers purchased by the government and thereby providing a guaranteed market for the products of the local farmers.
“It’s imperative for the government to establish a system that will support the purchase and consumption of the local farmers’ produce in the event that these are not sold or consumed in the local markets,” Duterte also said.
He added that apart from institutionalizing the mandatory breakfast feeding program to all public day care centers, preschools, and elementary schools, the proposed measure seeks to mandate the national and local governments to purchase the produce of local farmers for the proposed school feeding programs.
“The said program will not only benefit local farmers but also the schools and students who are guaranteed nutritious food that are prepared with fresh and in-season ingredients. It is only fitting to put our farmers first when attending to our countrymen’s need for subsistence, thereby placing them at the frontlines for food requirements,” Duterte stressed.
The measure stated that farmers, identified by the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Social Welfare and Development under the National Household Targeting Survey to be living in poverty, shall be given a guarantee that their produce shall be purchased by the government.
The Education secretary, in consultation with the Health secretary, Food and Nutrition Research Institute director, and the Director-General/Secretary of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, shall develop a program to provide the food service personnel of public day care centers, preschools, and elementary schools with technical training and assistance to prepare healthy meals. The same personnel should also be responsible for securing the produce of the identified farmers from their respective localities.
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