DA vows higher farm output within 3 yrs

‘We need to increase irrigated farms; that is the number one effort of the Department’

The Department of Agriculture, or DA, has set its priority of raising the country’s food production in the agency’s three-year agricultural plan.

“The top priority of our department under the leadership of Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel is to increase food production, including rice, vegetables, meat, and fish,” DA spokesperson Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said in a televised interview.

He added that to achieve this top priority, the agency is planning on expanding its irrigation projects to benefit more farmlands.

“We need to increase irrigated farms; that is the number one effort of the Department here. This also includes the large projects of the NIA aside from the small irrigation projects.”

Along with these steps, De Mesa said the construction of more postharvest and storage facilities is in the works.

Aside from increasing the number of farming facilities, the DA will also enhance farm mechanization and digitalization and improve its logistics and data collection, which will raise the farmers’ income while lowering the prices of commodities.

“We know that modernization is really the key for us to increase the yield and income of our farmers,” De Mesa said.

In January, the agriculture bureau laid out its three-year plan ‘Para sa Masaganang Bagong Pilipinas’ (Building a prosperous New Philippines) for a stronger agri-fishery sector, aiming to modernize the country’s agriculture production to ensure all industrial key players benefit, from farmers to retailers.

The plan under the Masagana Agri-Food Infrastructure Modernization program aims to invest in postharvest facilities, lower the prices of rice and corn, and get more accurate production data for effectively managing the country’s food supply through agricultural digitalization.

Rice-sufficient Phl by 2028

Meanwhile, when asked if the DA believes the country can be self-sufficient in rice by 2028, De Mesa answered: “We will make sure to lay out all the programs, mainly in irrigation, so that we can ensure that what our President wants, together with our secretary, is to increase the level of our local production, especially rice.”

NIA acting administrator, Engr. Eduardo Guillen said in a radio interview on Sunday that following their plans to construct more dams and improve the country’s irrigation systems, the Philippines may be rice-sufficient by 2028.

“I am confident that by maybe 2028, we will be rice-sufficient because of the area we can add for irrigation.”

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF LANDBANK P755B for rural progress State-owned Land Bank of the Philippines ramped up support to advance growth in the countryside, with outstanding loans to the entire agricultural value chain surging to P755.1 billion as of the end of last year. The bank’s investments represent 51 percent of the bank’s total loan portfolio.