August 14th, 2025
QUEZON CITY – House Special Committee on Food Security Chair Rep. Raymond “Adrian” Salceda has filed House Resolution No. 155, directing the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the Department of Agriculture (DA) to jointly develop a digital marketplace under Section 11 of Republic Act No. 11321, or the Sagip Saka Act, where farmers and fisherfolk registered in the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) can sell their produce directly to government agencies.
The resolution also directs the Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) to issue rules requiring agencies to procure a mandatory percentage of their food requirements for nutrition, feeding, and food assistance programs through the platform.
“This is Sagip Saka in the digital age, and it makes full use of Section 11’s mandate to directly procure from farmers and fisherfolk. It will be simple, transparent, and easy to audit. Farmers will be able to post and sell directly to agencies online, without middlemen taking away their margins. Even the general public can buy from the platform,” Salceda said.
Under the system, any farmer or fisherfolk in the RSBSA will automatically qualify to sell on the platform without additional accreditation, subject only to basic food safety standards. Procurement rules will be relaxed for items purchased through the platform to allow faster transactions. Affordable warehouse and cold storage facilities will also be made available for hire to participants.
Salceda stressed that farmer incomes and food security go hand in hand. “Kapag lugi ang magsasaka, wala silang panggastos sa pananim at abono. Kapag kulang ang puhunan, kulang din ang aanihin sa susunod na anihan. Lalong babagsak ang food security.”
“Sa mga bansang mayaman ang magsasaka, maraming pagkain. Where farmers are thriving, food is plentiful. This platform ensures our farmers have a guaranteed market, so they can keep producing,” he said.
He added that while the Department of Agriculture has experimented with online selling in the past, it has not been done in convergence with other agencies or as a formal procurement channel under the Sagip Saka Act. “With this resolution, we bring in DBM for the budget, DA for the farmer network, and GPPB for the procurement rules so this becomes a real, functioning farm-to-agency marketplace,” Salceda said.
“This will make government feeding and nutrition programs more sustainable, more locally sourced, and better for both our farmers and our food security,” Salceda concluded.