Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan has called for the establishment of a clear and systematic mechanism to evaluate the effectiveness of government interventions aimed at improving the livelihood of coconut farmers across the country.
During the pre-budget hearing of the Department of Agriculture (DA) on Tuesday, Sept. 30, the senator and chair of the Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform emphasized the need for evidence-based assessments to ensure that government programs and the utilization of funds meant for coconut farmers directly benefit the sector’s most vulnerable stakeholders.
“Dapat meron kayong data—maybe yung researchers nyo can look into this—(that) ‘Ok, after giving all of these gumanda ba kita ng ating coconut farmers? Meron bang resulta?’,” Pangilinan pointed out. “Kasi bakit niyo bibigyan ng mga pasilidad na ito kasi gusto ninyo magkaroon ng value adding ang mga produkto ng ating magsasaka? Sino nakikinabang doon?”
“Anong saysay ng 600 million kung mahirap pa rin yung magniniyog? Output meron pero outcome hindi natin alam. Kailangan natin malaman kung yung output natin may resulta sa outcome,” he added.
This was after the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PHilMech) reported during the hearing that it had released nearly P700 million worth of post-harvest facilities intended for coconut farmers.
Pangilinan asked for the submission of the statuses of the facilities and equipment delivered, as well as the output from these facilities.
“And all other offices I will ask the same thing. It has to be focused on the land. Nakatuon doon sa pangangailangan at magiging resulta sa mga nagniniyog, mangingisda, rice farmers, vegetable farmers,” he stressed.
“Ultimately, this is about our farmers and the fisherfolk. So, let’s see what is the impact of our interventions in terms of developing the quality of life of the beneficiary,” he added.
The senator, who has long championed the welfare of farmers and fisherfolk, explained that a results-based monitoring and evaluation framework must be institutionalized.
He earlier shared how neighboring countries—including China— are using farmers’ income as the benchmark of their government interventions to farmers.