BALER, Aurora -- Senator Edgardo J. Angara yesterday urged the Aquino administration to sustain investments in agriculture to bring down hunger level in the country.

Angara made the statement after the Social Weather Station (SWS) survey released its third quarter report showing that 41 percent of respondents -- equivalent to 8.2 million families -- claimed to be “food-poor,” higher than the 36 percent recorded only three months earlier.

The data reflects an earlier SWS report that showed hunger incidence increasing between June and September of this year from 15.1 percent to 21.5 percent, hitting 4.3 million families.   

“These figures highlight how many Filipinos still suffer from food insecurity. They also reveal that we have not been investing enough in boosting the productivity and resiliency of our agricultural sector,” said Angara, a former Agriculture secretary.