MANILA — Senate Minority Leader Vicente “Tito” Sotto III has urged the Senate Committee on Agriculture to study the possibility of the government purchasing half of all farmers’ produce at the price set by the farmers themselves.

“May I suggest the Committee on Agriculture study the possibility of the government buying 50% of the output of all farmers at their price,” Sotto said during a Senate interpellation on rice production and farmers’ welfare. “Because based on the study that was presented many years ago, it will help everyone. And the food prices might even go down.”

He cited Davao del Norte as a successful case of such an initiative, where Governor Edwin Jubahib has been implementing a similar program for the past two years. “There is a successful experimental project to that effect… and it’s been successful,” Sotto said, emphasizing the role of local governments and Food Terminals Inc. (FTIs) in facilitating this initiative.

Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan backed the proposal, noting that the Sagip-Saka Act, which he authored, already empowers the government to directly procure from farmers and fisherfolk without the need for public bidding. “The government is actually the biggest buyer of food every year,” he added.

Senator Raffy Tulfo also expressed support but raised logistical concerns. “I do agree… But the problem is we don’t have enough warehouses,” Tulfo said, urging investments in post-harvest infrastructure, particularly in storage facilities managed by the National Food Authority (NFA).

Sotto maintained that institutionalizing the proposal could uplift farmers and potentially lower market prices, benefiting both producers and consumers.