ANSWER SHEET

1. ANS: The term Agriculture is came from Latin term ‘agri’ meaning soil and ‘culture’ means cultivation.
It is the science or practice of farming, including soil cultivation for the growing of crops such as sugar
cane, rice, corn, cassava, bananas, potatoes, oranges, and beans. It also includes rearing of animals such
as pigs, chickens, goats, ducks, sheep, and cows to provide food, wool, and other products.

2. ANS: “It’s survival of the fittest right now; we’re doing everything we can to make sure we survive,”
said Bret Davis, an American farmer, referring to challenges that US agricultural sector faces as the
COVID-19 pandemic rages across the country. In France, their agricultural sector is also suffering under
pressure of the pandemic. Thus, it only means that not only Philippines suffering from this hard
situation, but also the global sectors. According to Rolando T. Dy, “The Philippine economy is on
downward and the main culprit is the COVID_19 pandemic which has also affected over 120 countries.”
Almost simultaneously, supply chain disruptions and demand compression fanned out. Supply chain
lockdowns affected the flow of goods from farms to urban markets. Agricultural labor faced mobility
issues. The reduction in local demand and export demand widespread as families lost buying power.
Sadly, lockdowns really affected deliveries like vegetables from North Luzon to Manila and other
regions. For example, some areas are able to manage in their harvests bought by the local government
units and non-government organizations for relief distribution. Others who are not as lucky, they just let
their produce rot in the fields due to the absence of buyers. When it comes to fish production, the
fishery contracted in the first quarter of year 2020. Since the first semester is the fishing season, it is
unlikely to recover soon quickly. Altogether, the sector’s annual target for the year will compromised
and that goes for rural poverty alleviation, too.

3. ANS: To lessen the suffering of Filipino citizen in this time of pandemic, the government must make a
way to solve this poverty. Here are some suggestions: First, government must invest for economic
recovery from pandemics. This requires special facilities, such as the World Bank’s Pandemic Financing
Facility. In the midst of a severe pandemic, even wealthy countries can face domestic political pressures
to spend at home and to clamp down on discretionary aid spending. There is also a role for targeted
assistance to poor households through safety nets, cash transfers, or other forms of assistance. For
example, Social Amelioration Program (SAP) for those lives whose greatly affected by the Enhanced
Community Quarantine (ECQ). Second, the government must provide small farmers and herders with
seeds, tools, livestock feeds and other inputs, along with animal health support so they can continue to
produce food and generate income. All agriculture activities need to be included during the lockdown
period to ensure wages of laborers working at farmers’ fields will paid out by the Government’s fund.
This will be a win-win situation as it will reduce the cost of production and uplift the agriculture sector
on one hand and unemployed laborers will get work close to their villages on the other. Lastly,
governments must empower communities and people to display solidarity and mutual support in these
difficult times. For example, those who are better off will tend to stock up on food and create artificial
overprice, governments should encourage, enforce price control, and ensure that every person is able to
buy food at a reasonable price. Governments should also incentivize individuals, businesses, and
charitable organizations to donate food to community food banks and to the needy. If appropriate,
governments should also consider fiscal incentives such as tax deduction for individuals and businesses
and other forms of public recognition and celebration of generosity and solidarity.