By Charissa Luci-Atienza Deputy Speaker and Antique Rep. Loren Legarda has called on the local government units (LGUs) in Antique to directly buy the local produce of their farmers and distribute them as part of the food assistance to the poor and vulnerable sectors during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. Deputy Speaker and Antique Rep. Loren Legarda
(Loren Legarda official Facebook page / MANILA BULLETIN) The former senator made the call to help prevent food waste and ensure income for the farmers in their province. “Antique, consisting of upland, lowland, and coastal areas, is geographically challenged. Livelihood is mostly dependent on farming and fishing. To avoid wastage of vegetables and other produce, I urge our local executives to buy their goods and distribute these to the poor and the marginalized communities. Our land provides us with so much food, no one in Antique should go hungry,” Legarda said in a statement. In coordination with the Antique provincial government and local officials, Legarda's office is set to launch a two day-project dubbed "Pagkaon para sa Tanan,” (Food for All) on Saturday and Sunday (April 11 and 12) to benefit their farmers and at the same time, extend assistance to those affected by the pandemic crisis. San Remigio, Anini-y, Hamtic, and Dao have been identified as the pilot areas for the project. Under the project, the produce of local farmers, such as singkamas (turnips), tomatoes, and root crops, will be placed in “bagsakan” (drop) centers in the towns of San Jose, Patnongon, and Sebaste, and the excess produce from these centers will be purchased and subsequently distributed to the municipal mayors of the four identified pilot areas, Legarda's office explained. Mayors from these municipalities will take charge of distributing the produce in their respective barangays via a “talipapa sa barangay" (small market in barangay), it said. “In this time of crisis, we should make sure that our farmers are supported as they supply us with the basic nutrition for our health and for our immune system. We have to support them in every way possible,” Legarda said. AAMBIS-OWA partylist Rep. Sharon Garin, chairperson of the House committee on economic affairs, earlier called on LGUs to buy crops directly from small-scale farmers and include them in the food packs being distributed to their constituents during the enhanced community quarantine, after farmers in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) were reportedly disposing truckloads of unsold carrots and cabbages due to lack of buyers in the region. She proposed that LGUs establish partnerships with small-scale farmers "to help prevent food waste, promote the consumption of nutritious meals among families, and ensure steady income for farmers" amid the government's imposition of the Luzon-wide ECQ.