Senator pushes for large-scale farming to boost agri sector

By Dolly Yasa

BACOLOD CITY – Senator Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri has called for the recalibration of the country’s agriculture sector toward large-scale farming, saying it is the only way to achieve genuine food security.

“This is the only way that we can save the sector and become truly food-secure,” Zubiri said during the Philippine Sugar Technologists Association Convention in Cebu City on Wednesday, where he received the Don Carlos L. Locsin Award for his efforts in championing agriculture, especially the sugar industry.

He said one of his priority bills this Congress is the National Land Use Act, which will provide a comprehensive framework for land planning, valuation, and use, including agricultural lands.

Under the proposed measure, strict guidelines will be set to ensure that agricultural lands are not converted for non-agricultural uses.

“In tandem with the National Land Use Act, I have also just filed the Corporate Farming Act, to help us lay the grounds for large-scale farming,” Zubiri said. “This is really the key to optimizing our arable lands for higher agricultural production, and eventually, total food security.”

He added that large-scale farming will deliver “high input, high yield, high value” results.

Zubiri shared that his roots are in sugar farming, growing up in a family headed by his father, former Bukidnon governor Joe Zubiri, who hails from Kabankalan, Negros Occidental.

“From my father, I learned the magic and the miracle of farming—how soil, seed, and water, under caring hands, can give us food and sustenance,” he said. “Even as a child, I developed an appreciation for all the hard work that goes into a sack of rice, a cob of corn, and a teaspoon of sugar.”

He also recalled going “head-to-head” with the Sugar Regulatory Administration whenever he felt it was favoring importers over farmers.

Critics have said protectionist policies hurt the sugar industry, but Zubiri asked, “What is the alternative? Full-throttle liberalization that leaves our farmers in the dust?”

He questioned why the government prioritizes imports to lower sugar prices instead of boosting local production to meet domestic demand and support exports.

Under the Corporate Farming Act, individuals or one-person corporations may acquire up to 50 hectares of contiguous land, while corporations may own up to 200 hectares.

“This would be a win-win situation,” Zubiri said, noting that beneficiaries could retire from farming with enough compensation to support their families, while investors could consolidate lands for productive corporate farms serving both local and export markets.

Consumers, he added, would benefit from affordable, homegrown produce.

Zubiri acknowledged that the measure may not be popular but vowed to fight for it in the Senate.

“As an agriculturist and as a humble recipient of the Don Carlos L. Locsin Award, sugar raised me, so I will uplift it in turn,” he said.