Department of Agriculture to keep focus on rice, food sufficiency target this year

MANILA, Philippines - Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala continues to remain focused on attaining rice and food sufficiency targets this year.

During the Department of Agriculture’s 1st quarter national management committee (ManCom) meeting last week at the DA-BSWM convention hall in Quezon City, Alcala instructed his top officials to vigorously implement major commodity programs, and remain on track towards attaining rice and food staple sufficiency targets.

Alcala emphasized during the meeting that much is expected from the DA now that its budget has been increased to P61.73 billion this year, 60 percent more than last year.

“We have undertaken a large and heavy task this year and next year, especially for our flagship Food Staples Sufficiency Program or FSSP,” Alcala said during the meeting.

He urged the DA officials to focus their energies and efforts to pursue the FSSP, particularly during the four cropping seasons from 2012 to 2013.

He said the success of the FSSP rests on the entire agency, including agricultural producers and other partners, as he ordered all DA regional field units and agencies to effectively implement respective road maps to achieve desired goals and targets.

In the fishery sector, Alcala lauded the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR) for coming up with an “aquisilviculture” program that entails regeneration and protection of mangroves, establishment of municipal hatcheries, and provision of livelihood to marginal fisherfolk and their families.

“Aside from food staples, fish has a big share in the Filipino family meal,” Alcala said.

The DA, Alcala said, would also expand this year livestock and poultry production, and breeding programs to benefit every farming household.

The DA, in partnership with livestock industry stakeholders, will ensure that the country remains free from the dreaded Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and avian flu, and make use of comparative advantage to export pork and chicken products to other countries.

For high value crops, Alcala asked concerned officials to continuously improve the value chain — from research, production, post-harvest, processing and marketing — and broaden the domestic and export potentials for coconut, sugar, abaca, pineapple, banana, mango, vegetables, jackfruit, cashew, coffee, rubber, cacao, and other crops.

He also urged the upgrading of product standards and climate adaptation measures; the opening of in-roads to encourage prospective farmers like returning OFWs, young farmers, and retirees to engage in agriculture, fishery and agribusiness enterprises; and improvement of technologies and expansion of knowledge pool.

In addition, he ordered the enhancement of DA support mechanisms to provide needed resources and logistics to “frontliners” that include agricultural extension workers so they could, in turn, serve stakeholders, particularly small farmers and fisherfolk.

Alcala urged DA officials to expand and strengthen partnerships with farmers’ and fishers’ groups, irrigators’ associations, local government units (LGUs), other government agencies, the private sector, and international and national development agencies.

He also urged concerned DA agencies and regional offices to upgrade plant and animal research stations and stock farms.

For soil and water management, he instructed DA agencies to continue their efforts in improving the country’s farmlands and encouraging farmers to adopt sustainable practices to improve the soil’s organic matter through crop rotation, and refrain from practicing the “kaingin” system and burning of rice straw.

The DA intends to construct more “water-harvesting” structures and small scale irrigation projects to benefit more small farmers in rainfed and upland areas.

To ensure higher farm productivity and income, Alcala said the DA would also strengthen crop and animal pest and disease control programs.

Finally, he urged DA officials to “focus our minds and deliver results.”