Senator Loren Legarda on Wednesday called on Congress to expedite the passage of the National Agriculture Extension Bill to help farmers and fishermen deal with the devastating effects of climate change on their livelihood.

Legarda, chairperson of the Senate committee on climate change, said Senate Bill 3100 would enable farmers and fisher folks prepare for the possible worsening of calamities next year especially during the first semester.

She said that the Department of Budget and Management had released P4.48 billion to accredited financing institutions such as rural and cooperative banks in 2008 to guarantee loans for farmers and fishermen.

But the fund is barely touched with only 18.7 percent or P842 million worth of loans approved so far.

“(That’s) because our farmers and fisher folk do not know that there is a credit facility like this. The Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act of 1997 or AFMA provided for this facility but the problem is that they have to be helped accomplish feasibility studies, undertake profitable production projects and a disciplined program of repaying their loans,” said Legarda.

“This is the reason why I want to pass the National Agriculture Extension Bill. We want to mobilize local government extension workers who are constrained by lack of funds for agriculture activities and in many cases lack of appreciation by local chief executives of the promise of agriculture and fishery in the development of their localities,” she said.

Instead of passing a supplemental budget bill to augment the government’s calamity fund, the government should look for available resources to meet the crisis.

“Even as the National Agriculture Extension Bill is not yet passed, we appeal to our local chief executives to send their agricultural extension workers to assist farmers and fisher folk,” she said.

“We also appeal to state universities and colleges with agriculture and fisheries extension programs to make it their mission in these times of crisis to help farmers and fisher folk go to rural banks and microfinance institutions and prepare project feasibility studies and other requirements. Add this assistance to your relief bags,” Legarda said.

Representative Abraham Mitra, co-chairperson of Legarda in the Congressional Oversight Committee on Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization (COCAFM), backed the senator’s proposal.

“Let us put more resources coming from the national government to provide the financial requirements for the implementation of the proposed extension law. Our farmers and fisher folk need assistance from qualified technical personnel and extension workers who could provide them guidance in agriculture production, accessing credit, trade, processing, including crop and animal protection and other farm activities,” Mitra said.