The next Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary should have a heart for local small farmers, Senator Cynthia Villar said on Tuesday, January 24.
"Be sure na 'yung Secretary ng Agriculture ay mahal 'yung farmer kasi kahit may Secretary of Agriculture, kung hindi mo naman mahal ang farmer, e'di wala ring serbisyo," she told reports in a chance interview.
Villar recalled that the agriculture department was once hailed as the "department of importation" in the past.
She added that the former agriculture chief always used importation as a solution to every problem.
"Ako, I don't believe in that. Importation is temporary. Ang ating dapat gawin ay developmental na in the future, ang ating farmer can compete even with the imports," Villar said.
Earlier, President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr., who is the concurrent DA chief, said he wants an agriculture expert and not a retired military or police official to lead the department.
But the Senator said the next DA chief should not just be an expert in the field but also have a heart for farmers.
Otherwise, the next agriculture secretary can easily be influenced by external forces that could harm farms, Villar added.
"And minsan, hindi na rin maka-resist 'diba? Kaya dapat talaga may heart na devoted sa farmer para maka-resists doon sa mga temptation," she stressed.
