Lawmakers Create Working Group for Onion Institute

The House  Committee on Agriculture and Food established a technical working group (TWG) to study proposals for the Philippine Onion Institute.

Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture and Food, Mark Enverga has mentioned that the TWG will be consolidating House Bill 3110 of Third District Nueva Ecija Rep. Rosanna Vergara and House Bill 1379 of Firest District Nueva Ecija Rep. Mikaela Suansing.

This technical working group was established amidst the issues surrounding the onion sector.

Rep. Suansing stated in her bill that with the farming setting and background of the Philippines, this could easily become a “respectable” onion-producing country.

She mentions that “A study of the farming industries in the globe will reveal that establishing an onion industry can substantially benefit a country’s economy. Australia, for instance, is an established onion producer that caters to both its domestic and export markets. Other countries with farming industries have relatively delved into onion production as well,”

Rep. Suangins’g bill indicates the proposal of a Philippine Onion Institute which would progress the onion industry in the Philippines to a “more progressive entity.”

“An industry capable of serving the domestic and international markets, bringing with it much-needed revenue, thus considerably uplifting the lives of Filipinos in the process,”

This proposed bill likewise intends to create and operate a central experiment station that will conduct extensive research on onion production and culture such as feasibility studies on merchandising onion farms.

The proposal also designates the Department of Agriculture (DA) as the main supervising body of the said institute.

“The DA as an administrative agency of the government is composed of experts in a specific field of specialization under its jurisdiction. Hence, the decision to place the aforesaid establishment under the supervision of the said agency certainly augurs well for the proposed bill.”

Source: Business Mirror