President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. said boosting farm and fishery production will be the top agenda of the Department of Agriculture (DA) next year.
The president and DA secretary said he wants most of their programs next year to help boost the country’s agricultural productivity to ensure food security and lower food prices, which in turn will lead to economic growth.
Among the said initiatives, he said, is DA’s Soil Health Program, Aquaculture Development Program, and Biotech Research for Fisheries.
“That is why we are meeting now after the program to finalize the NEP (National Expenditure Program),” Marcos told reporters after the 125th Founding Anniversary event of DA last Tuesday.
So we are doing everything that we can to increase production in all aspects. I’m not talking only about rice and corn but also livestock, and fisheries,” he added.
He said they will also be pushing for funding for their proposed farm-to-market road, which will ensure better market accessibility for farmers and fisherfolk.
“I don’t want to give you the final amount yet because you’re going to print it and then it’s going to go into hearings and change,” Marcos said.
He cited the decreasing productivity among the major threats to the agriculture sector together with climate change, diminishing natural resources, and a changing market.
The President said they will try to improve agricultural productivity technologies and practices and private sector partnerships. “Through these, we can motivate more people—especially younger Filipinos—to toil, to nourish our land and our seas, propelling the Philippines towards greater heights of security, prosperity, progress, and sustainability,” the chief executive said.
A robust agriculture sector, he said, will translate to higher economic growth for the country.
“Agriculture is and will always be an important contributor to our national economy. In the first quarter of 2023, the sector grew by 2.2 percent, contributing 9.1 percent to our GDP (gross domestic product),” Marcos said.
Image credits: BusinessMirror file photo.
PBBM: DA to increase agricultural productivity, lower food prices
Source: News Paper Radio
0 Comments