TO help boost the country’s food supply, the government is set to launch later this year a new program which will tap persons deprived of liberty (PDL) for agriculture production in idle lands of the Bureau of Correction (BuCor).
On Thursday, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. witnessed the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Department Justice (DOJ) for the implementation of the Reformation Initiative for Sustainable Environment (RISE).
The chief executive lauded the initiative, which will ensure the country’s food security and help in the rehabilitation of PDL.
“Allow me to recognize the synergy that is the work of the DA, DOJ and their private partners to utilize our natural resources and promote ecology sustainable practices amongst PDLs through this RISE project,” Marcos said.
“This initiative attests to our unyielding commitment to both food security and rehabilitative justice,” he added.
The 500 hectares of the Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan will be used as the pilot site for the project.
Of these, 400 hectares will be used for forage and dairy production, 40 hectares for growing rice, 30 hectares for cashew production and 25 hectares will be for planting yellow corn.
Half a hectare will be used for raising 25,000 tilapia fingerlings, and another hectare will be for “edible landscaping” and used for agri-tourism.
The new DA-DOJ MOA allows the Bureau of Correction (BuCor) to enter into agreements with other government agencies as well as public-private partnerships with companies with sufficient financial and appropriate technological capacity and establish agri-business ventures.
It also requires BuCor to craft its five-year Agriculture Development Plan.
Marcos urged other government agencies to develop similar joint initiatives to help achieve his administration’s priorities.
“It is more pragmatic and effective to allocate our scarce resources wisely and ensure that all our initiatives are aligned, coordinated and integrated through a whole of nation approach,” Marcos said.
“By making innovation our priority, we can expedite the delivery of programs and services and build a more robust economy,” he added.
Government tapping PDL to plant crops on idle Corrections bureau land
Source: News Paper Radio
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