Senator Cynthia Villar explained the reason why farmers are still suffering from poverty despite having a big piece of land.
In her book titled “Seeds of Life,” Villar explained that some farmers are still relying on old methods of farming, even though there are already modern ways to make their plant grow faster.
“Many of our farmers do things the hard way. They do things on their own, not knowing that there are easier and faster-mechanized ways of getting things done,” Villar said.
The billionaire senator believes that the farmers don’t know how to handle their farm properly to make it profitable.
According to Villar, the suffering of the farmers are also increasing because they’re lending money to the wrong people.
#TWITTERSCOOP Children's book of Cynthia Villar entitled "Seed of Life" goes viral
Cynthia Villar has published "Seeds of Life", an easy-to-read booklet to educate farmers or inform the public about her advocacies.
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“Many of our farmers do not earn money because they do not have the proper business sense. They do not understand how to run the farm efficiently to make it profitable,” the Senator explained.
“Many of our farmers go into debt because they borrow from illegal money lenders, bad people who do what is called 5-6, that is, lend farmers 5 pesos and expect them to pay 6 pesos back, or 20 percent interest a day or 7,200% a year. No businesses will earn this much,” she added.
“Many of our farmers do all these things because they do not know. They do this because they do not have the proper farm education,”
The book of Villar went viral amid the criticisms being received by the Senator over the cheapening price of unhusked rice in several provinces in the Philippines.
Villar also raised the eyebrows of several netizens after she stated that it’s too much to ask to increase the price of palay to 21 pesos.
“Kumikita na sila ng five pesos per kilo, I think 17 is really the regular of the regular price, it’s too much to ask na maging 21, 20,” she said during a senate hearing last week.