Villar and the Grains of Development

MANILA-Sen. Cynthia Villar was known to get viral on social media every once and a while,
mostly due to another controversial statement. The most famous instances however, were the
ones where she comments on research.

The Senator reprimands Department of Agriculture (DA) officials as they proceeded to allocate
so much money for research instead of giving the seedlings to farmers, “research is useless if the
scientists could not apply it to actual farming” she said.

On Tuesday September 1st, the Senator explained why she has “misgivings” over research
projects, particularly, that of the agricultural industry. “Kaya ako may misgivings sa research,
ang cooperative nag-complain sa akin,” Villar said during a Senate hearing, reprimanding
Department of Agriculture officials and drawing flak in the process.

DA’s Budget Allocations

The Senator further chastised the Department of Agriculture (DA) due to what seemed to be their
bloated budget that was used solely for corn research.

During a Senate hearing on the agricultural budget, Villar said that the DA’s National Corn
Program was allocating too much budget for research with a stunning 150 million Php, and not
enough on delivering services to farmers.

“Ang budget nyo, puro sa personnel services, expenses, research," the lady Senator said. "Wala
nang nabibigay sa tao. Pera ng tao ‘yan eh. Taxpayers’ money ‘yan,” she added.

Application Equals That of Importance

After Drawing flak for her recent complaints against the Department of Agriculture officials,
Senator Cynthia Villar clarified that she was “not against research”.

Villar, who chairs the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food, after earlier criticizing the DA
for devoting 150 million Php for the National Corn Program’s research, disclosed that Philippine
Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) discovered an inbred seed that could increase harvest by an
astonishing 50%, but it had to wait for additional funding before it would be deemed usable in
the industry.

Villar then proposed that the DA should allocate half of the research budget to the application of
said project to see whether their research will have an actual desirable impact on the Philippines’
agricultural sector. “If we can’t apply what we have researched, then it’s useless” she added.
Developing Philippine Agriculture
On the same day, a group of science and technology advocates have presented the positives and
importance of strong research when it comes to agricultural advancement in the Philippines and
uplifting the lives of farmers all over the country.

The Food Security and Self-Sufficiency Committee of the Advocates of Science and Technology
for the People (Agham) voiced that Senator Villar’s statement involving research being
“inefficient”, seeing as they allocated 150 million Php to the National Corn Program, reflects the
lack of support the national government has towards research and development.

“We would like to dispute Senator Cynthia Villar’s statement belittling the importance of
research to agricultural development. We would like to assert that strong research, together with
genuine land and pro-farmer reforms, plays a vital role in developing the country’s agriculture,
achieving food security and uplifting the lives of our farmers,” said Agham, as they retaliated the
Senator’s claim.