NEWLY installed Acting Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar is targeting to double farmers’ income in five years and grow agriculture production by at least 3 percent annually in keeping with President Duterte’s directive of improving the lives of Filipinos.
Dar said the President had ordered him to boost the performance of the Philippine agriculture, which expanded by an average of only 1.1 percent in the past decade.
He said farm production growth should be at least 3 percent to 4 percent to ensure ample food supply and meet the food requirements of the country’s population, which has been expanding at an annualized rate of 1.8 percent.
“If your production growth is only 1.1 percent, how are you going to feed your growing population? You will always have a deficit,” Dar said in his first news briefing on Tuesday.
“At the end of his [Duterte] term, he wants to leave a legacy of uplifting the livelihood and the quality of life of our farmers and fishermen,” Dar added.
The new agriculture chief said he will prioritize the implementation of programs which will be bankrolled by the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF).
The P10-billion fund was created by Republic Act (RA) 11203 to improve the competitiveness of the local rice sector.
He also said he is keen on expanding areas planted with hybrid rice to improve farmers’ productivity.
Strategy
The DA will adopt as its overarching goal the attainment of food security instead of food sufficiency in light of the liberalization of the local rice industry, Dar said.
In shooting for food security, the DA is now amenable to importing the shortfall in domestic production to avert shortages.
The new agriculture chief said the DA will craft programs around eight paradigms that make up the “new” thinking for Philippine agriculture.
These are modernization of agriculture, industrialization of agriculture, promotion of exports, farm consolidation, road map development, infrastructure development, higher budget and investments for agriculture, and legislative support.
The new DA chief said he will review the existing programs of the department and look for ways to “reinvent” and “revitalize” these initiatives to ensure the country’s food security.
Dar said he will roll out projects enticing the private sector to invest more in agriculture.
“So, we must all unite behind President Duterte to find more ways to make smallholder Filipino farmers and fisherfolk more prosperous, with the ultimate goal of doubling their incomes in five years,” he said.
Image credits: Laila d. Austria