1
Republic of the Philippines 
House of Representatives 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
Nineteenth Congress 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. _____ 
Introduced by Representative Rudys Caesar G. Fariñas I 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
This bill establishes a Young Farmers and Fisherfolk Challenge Program that 
shall support and empower young farmers and fisherfolk to be active partners in 
food security, agricultural development, and modernization. The Program shall 
encourage the youth to pursue a career or engage in activities related to 
agriculture, ensure young farmers and fisherfolk participation in policy 
formulation and program implementation relative to the agriculture sector, and 
provide institutional support for agri-business and agri-entrepreneurship 
initiatives of the youth to realize their role as agents and partners for 
development fully. 
This bill also creates the Young Farmers and Fisherfolk Challenge Council. The 
Council is empowered, among others, to identify and streamline access to 
relevant capacity-building and livelihood programs across the different 
departments and agencies of government, including on-the-job training, job 
fairs, employment in farm tourism and agro-industrial zones, and other 
employment-bridging initiatives. 
The powers also include the Council's ability to ensure scholarships and 
subsidized tuition fees for young farmers and fisherfolk in state universities and 
colleges (SUCs). Similarly, the Council can provide on-the-job training programs 
for young farmers and fisherfolk in areas such as "green jobs," reforestation, 
coastal management, fisheries, and other rural-based jobs, through the DOLE's 
Special Program for Employment of Students (SPES) and other livelihood and 
training programs. Hence, this representation seeks the passage of this measure.   
RUDYS CAESAR G. FARIÑAS I 
February 21, 2023
1:50 pm
7268


 2
Republic of the Philippines 
House of Representatives 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
Nineteenth Congress 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. _____ 
Introduced by Representative Rudys Caesar G. Fariñas I 
AN ACT 
ESTABLISHING 
THE 
YOUNG 
FARMERS 
AND 
FISHERFOLK 
CHALLENGE PROGRAM, CREATING FOR THE PURPOSE THE 
YOUNG FARMERS AND FISHERFOLK CHALLENGE COUNCIL, AND 
APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. Short title. This Act shall be known as the “Young Farmers
1 
and Fisherfolk Challenge Act”. 
2 
3 
SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. It is hereby declared the policy of the State 
4 
to ensure that the rights of young farmers and fisherfolk are recognized, 
5 
protected and promoted. Pursuant to this, the State shall engage the youth in 
6 
nation building and rural development, providing for this purpose access to 
7 
knowledge, information and education, access to land, new sources of financial 
8 
services and capital, green jobs, access to new and niche markets, and 
9 
participation in policy dialogue. 
10 
11 
SEC. 3. Young Farmers and Fisherfolk Challenge Program. There is 
12 
hereby established a Young Farmers and Fisherfolk Challenge Program, 
13 
hereinafter referred to as the Program, that shall support and empower the 
14 
young farmers and fisherfolk to be active partners in food security and 
15 
agricultural development and modernization. The Program shall encourage the 
16 
youth to pursue a career or engage in activities related to agriculture, ensure 
17 
young farmers and fisherfolk participation in policy formulation and program 
18 
implementation relative to the agriculture sector, and provide institutional 
19 
7268


 
 
 
 
3
support for agri-business and agri-entrepreneurship initiatives of the youth to 
1 
fully realize their role as agents and partners for development. 
2 
 
3 
  
SEC. 4. Beneficiaries of the Program. The Program is intended to 
4 
support young farmers and fisherfolk between fifteen (15) to forty (40) years of 
5 
age, who are engaged in farming and fisheries activities, and are included in the 
6 
Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA). The Department of 
7 
Agriculture (DA) shall update its existing database to reflect these indicators. 
8 
 
9 
  
SEC. 5. Creation of a Young Farmers and Fisherfolk Challenge 
10 
Council. There is hereby created the Young Farmers and Fisherfolk Challenge 
11 
Council, hereinafter referred to as the Council, to properly oversee the 
12 
implementation of the Program. 
13 
 
14 
  
The Council shall be composed of the following: 
15 
 
16 
a. Secretary of the Department of Agriculture (DA) or a duly authorized 
17 
representative who is at least an Undersecretary, who shall be the Chair; 
18 
b. Representative of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) who shall 
19 
likewise be an Undersecretary; 
20 
c. Representative of the Department of Education (DepEd) who shall likewise 
21 
be an Undersecretary; 
22 
d. Representative of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST); 
23 
e. Representative of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED); 
24 
f. Representative of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR); 
25 
g. Representative of the Technical Education and Skills Development 
26 
Authority (TESDA);  
27 
h. Representative of the Department of the Interior and Local Government 
28 
(DILG); 
29 
i. Representative of a national organization of young farmers’ cooperative or 
30 
association, provided that the representative shall be between fifteen (15) 
31 
to forty (40) years of age; 
32 
j. Representative of a national organization of fisherfolk’s cooperative or 
33 
association, provided that the representative shall be between fifteen (15) 
34 
to forty (40) years of age; 
35 
k. Representative of a farmers’ women organization or cooperative, provided 
36 
that the representative shall be between fifteen (15) to forty (40) years of 
37 
age; 
38 
l. Representative of a national organization for agritourism; and 
39 
m. Representative of a national organization for food, restaurant, and 
40 
business sectors. 
41 
 
42 
  
The Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries shall serve as its 
43 
Secretariat. 
44 
 
45 
  
SEC. 6. Powers and Functions of the Council. The Council shall have 
46 
the following powers and functions: 
47 
 
48 


 
 
 
 
4
a. Formulate the Program, in consultation with research institutions such as 
1 
the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in 
2 
Agriculture (SEARCA), Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and 
3 
Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD), University of 
4 
the Philippines - Los Baños (UPLB) and other relevant state universities 
5 
and colleges (SUCs); 
6 
 
7 
b. Identify and streamline access to relevant capacity-building and livelihood 
8 
programs across the different departments and agencies of government, 
9 
including on-the-job trainings, job fairs, employment in farm tourism and 
10 
agro-industrial zones, and other employment-bridging initiatives;  
11 
 
12 
c. Identify and streamline access to possible sources of credit across the 
13 
different departments, agencies, and instrumentalities, including access 
14 
to start-up capital;  
15 
 
16 
d. Monitor initiatives in emerging best practices in agriculture such as smart 
17 
farming, farm tourism in compliance with RA 10816, or the “Farm Tourism 
18 
Development Act of 2016,” agroponics, aquaponics, hydroponics, and 
19 
organic and boutique vegetables; 
20 
 
21 
e. Improve and facilitate access to marketing services such as through 
22 
product packaging, promotions including branding and advertising, 
23 
networking events, provision of subsidies to enable participation in trade 
24 
fairs and exhibits, and linkage with media; 
25 
 
26 
f. Coordinate with local government units (LGUs) in providing subsidized 
27 
rental rates for public retail areas and public markets to farmers and 
28 
fisherfolk; 
29 
 
30 
g. Serve as a conduit between stakeholders and national and international 
31 
leaders including Congress and the private sector in formulating policies 
32 
directly addressing the concerns of young farmers and fisherfolk;  
33 
 
34 
h. Propose subjects related to agriculture and agribusiness such as 
35 
gardening, backyard farming, urban farming, reforestation, agricultural 
36 
appreciation, agricultural entrepreneurship, smart farming, farm tourism, 
37 
and coastal management in all pertinent levels of the DepEd’s K-12 system 
38 
with the end goal of increasing enrollment in the technical-vocational track 
39 
in Senior High School in courses related to agriculture, CHED, including 
40 
the National Service Training Program (NSTP) and TESDA; 
41 
 
42 
i. Ensure scholarships and subsidized tuition fees for young farmers and 
43 
fisherfolk in SUCs; 
44 
 
45 
j. Provide on-the-job training programs for young farmers and fisherfolk in 
46 
areas such as “green jobs”, reforestation, coastal management, fisheries, 
47 
and other rural-based jobs, through the DOLE’s Special Program for 
48 
Employment of Students (SPES) and other livelihood and training 
49 
programs; 
50 
 
51 
k. Explore and facilitate the extension of short-term leases for public land to 
52 
young farmers and fisherfolk, providing free or subsidized land for 
53 
cultivation and for aquaculture, and developing other packages such as, 
54 
lease-to-buy schemes that would allow young farmers and fisherfolk to use 
55 


 
 
 
 
5
available or unutilized agricultural land or fishing ground for the purposes 
1 
of said Program; 
2 
 
3 
l. Expedite the leasing, distribution, and award of agrarian reform land to 
4 
qualified beneficiaries; 
5 
 
6 
m. Facilitate the use of excess land holdings of SUCs and PEIs for agricultural 
7 
training and developmental processes; 
8 
 
9 
n. Foster the formation of new ideas and technologies by assisting 
10 
agricultural enterprises of qualified young farmers and fisherfolk 
11 
entrepreneurs, pursuant to Republic Act No. 11337, otherwise known as 
12 
the “Innovative Start-up Act of 2018”; 
13 
 
14 
o. Initiate social partnerships and rural development initiatives in 
15 
partnership with the private sector; 
16 
 
17 
p. Optimize existing loan guarantee funds administered by various 
18 
government entities to increase the credit worthiness of young farmers and 
19 
fisherfolk experiencing difficulty in obtaining loans from banks due to lack 
20 
of acceptable collaterals, credit knowledge and credit track record; and  
21 
 
22 
q. Accept donations, contributions, grants, bequests or gifts, in cash or in 
23 
kind, from various sources, domestic or foreign, for purposes relevant to 
24 
the functions of the Council. Said donations shall be deemed automatically 
25 
appropriated for purposes specified by the donor or in the absence thereof, 
26 
for the programs and projects as may be approved by the Council subject 
27 
to the usual accounting and auditing rules and regulations: Provided, 
28 
That, cash donations shall not be used to fund the personal services 
29 
requirements of the Council.  
30 
 
31 
  
SEC. 6-A. Tax Exemption on Donations. All grants, bequests, 
32 
endowments, donations and contributions made to and used actually, directly 
33 
and exclusively by the Council shall be exempt from donor’s tax and the same 
34 
shall be considered as allowable deduction from gross income for purposes of 
35 
computing the taxable income of the donor, in accordance with the provisions of 
36 
the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended. 
37 
 
38 
SEC. 7. Waiver of Government Fees and Charges. Subject to the 
39 
exceptions provided in Section 8 of Republic Act No. 11261, otherwise known as 
40 
the “First-Time Jobseekers Assistance Act”, all government agencies and 
41 
instrumentalities, including government-owned and controlled corporations, 
42 
LGUs, and government hospitals shall not collect fees or charges from young 
43 
farmers and fisherfolks who are first-time jobseekers: Provided, That such fee or 
44 
charge is in connection with the application for and the granting of licenses, 
45 
proofs of identification, clearances, certificates or other documents usually 
46 
required in the course of employment locally or abroad: Provided further, That 
47 
the benefit provided shall only be availed of once. 
48 
 
49 
SEC. 8. Annual Report. The Council shall submit to the President and to 
50 
both Houses of   Congress, not later than the 30th of March of every year following 
51 
the effectivity of this Act, a report giving a detailed account on the effective 
52 


 
 
 
 
6
implementation of this Act, and recommended legislation where applicable and 
1 
necessary. 
2 
 
3 
  
SEC. 9.  Implementing Rules and Regulations. Within ninety (90) days 
4 
from the effectivity of this Act, the DA and DAR shall, in coordination with the 
5 
DOST, DOLE, DENR, DepEd, CHED, Land Bank of the Philippines, and National 
6 
Youth Commission, issue the necessary rules and regulations for the 
7 
implementation of this Act. 
8 
 
9 
  
SEC. 10.  Appropriations. The funds necessary to carry out the initial 
10 
implementation of this Act shall be charged against the current year’s budget of 
11 
the Department of Agriculture. Thereafter, such sums as may be necessary for 
12 
the continued implementation of this Act shall be included in the annual General 
13 
Appropriations Act. 
14 
 
15 
  
SEC. 11. Separability Clause. If any provision of this Act is declared 
16 
invalid or unconstitutional, the other provisions not affected by such declaration 
17 
shall remain in full force and effect. 
18 
 
19 
  
SEC. 12. Repealing Clause. All laws, executive orders, administrative 
20 
orders, and rules and regulations inconsistent with this act are hereby repealed 
21 
or amended accordingly. 
22 
 
23 
  
SEC. 13. Effectivity. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
24 
publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. 
25 
 
  
Approved,