Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary William Dar and Assistant Secretary Noel Reyes urged Filipinos to be one with the incoming Marcos administration in working towards agricultural stability.
In the 200th Virtual Presser of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) Task Group on Food Security (TGFS) live-streamed on DA’s official Facebook page on Tuesday, Reyes encouraged Filipinos to disregard politics and take part in securing food sufficiency in the country.
“Let us be one in ensuring that all Filipinos will have access to safe, affordable, quality, and nutritious food at all times. Walang kulay, walang partido, lahat tayo Pilipino [No (political) colors, no (political) parties, we are all FIlipinos],” Reyes said.
Dar warned viewers about a looming global food crisis. He said that everyone, including farmers, must start using the best of modern technologies for increased food production.
“Let’s do what is possible now. Let’s start preparing and acting, start planting, start raising… Let’s see to it that we use the best of technologies, modern technologies and innovations in all [that] we are doing now… Boosting productivity is our key goal para mas mataas po ‘yung ani natin, para maka-survive tayo [so our harvest will be plenty for us to survive] during this stage… We have to survive, and to survive, lahat po ng Pilipino, magbanat-buto [all Filipinos must work hard],” Dar said.
While “unity” among Filipinos plays a huge part in mitigating agricultural challenges, Dar also emphasized the importance of “proper budgetary support” for the agricultural sector.
Dar cited the case of Bangladesh wherein agriculture and food production are prioritized in terms of budget, resulting in a 100 percent food sufficiency.
“Just to compare the budget we have today and their budget this year, it is three times than what we have. We have PHP85.5 [billion], they have more than PHP200 billion. So ganun kahalaga ‘yung importansya ng proper budgetary support sa agrikultura (That’s how important proper budgetary support in agriculture is],” Dar stated.
On balanced fertilization, transition, and DA’s 10-year plan
To address the action plan of DA, Dar discussed the balanced fertilization strategy wherein supplements such as organic fertilizers and biostimulants are considered amid reductions in fertilizers traded globally.
Dar mentioned that the DA is working closely with China, Russia, Canada, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Iran for the manufacturing of fertilizers.
“We are accelerating these discussions so that ‘yung [the] government-to-government procurement will be the way forward on this,” he said.
Amid concerns brought about by the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, the Ukraine-Russia war, global crude price hikes, the African Swine Fever (ASF), and other constraints, the DA assured that it is set to turn over its transition report to the incoming Marcos administration.
“Gusto ko ring banggitin dito ‘yung [I also want to mention] NAPMIF, National Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization and Industrialization Plan. This is a 10-year strategy na nag-umpisa na [that already started] last year. So this is its second year, and we want a good budget for this. The idea is for this 10-year period, [the] government must invest at the level of PHP2.5 trillion. So the other 50 percent is from the private sector investments… A total of PHP5 trillion is needed for a 10-year period,” Dar said.
Photo Credit: Facebook/secretarywilliamdar