Go backs post-harvest facilities’ provision

Senator Christopher “Bong” Go has filed a bill that would provide post-harvest facilities to Filipino farmers to improve crop quality and promote food security.

Senate Bill No. 680, or the “Post-Harvest Facilities Support Act of 2025,” would mandate the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), in consultation with the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Agrarian Reform and farmer cooperatives, to construct warehouses and rice mills in every rice-producing municipality nationwide.

“Let’s support our farmers, including by giving them post-harvest facilities to improve the quality of their harvest,” Go said. “This will not only help to improve our farmers’ livelihoods, but also promote food security.”

The bill proposes that in the program’s initial phase, every district with at least one rice-producing municipality would receive at least one warehouse and one rice mill.

Go said the bill would help address the challenges farmers face from a lack of adequate facilities and equipment, which can lead to income loss and a decline in crop quality.

The Department of Trade and Industry, in consultation with other agencies and cooperatives, would provide the equipment and machinery for the facilities. Local governments would be responsible for operating the warehouses and rice mills.

Go has also filed other bills to support the agricultural sector, including Senate Bill No. 681, or the Fertilizer Subsidy for Farmers bill, and Senate Bill No. 673, which would provide comprehensive crop insurance for small farmers.

“We must improve our programs and services for our fellow Filipinos, especially our farmers,” Go said. “We will have nothing to eat without them.”

Go also co-authored the Agriculture, Fisheries, and Rural Development Financing Enhancement Act of 2022 and the New Agrarian Emancipation Act, which condones farmers’ loans to relieve their financial burdens.

“Let’s help and care for each other, especially our poor countrymen who live hand-to-mouth,” Go said. “It’s important that our farmers are happy. Let’s make sure no Filipino goes hungry and no one is left behind in our recovery.”