DA backed on food security
THE Asociacion de Agricultores de La Carlota y Pontevedra Inc. ( Aalcpi) has expressed support for the Department of Agriculture’s ( DA) thrust to further strengthen the country’s food security amid the coronavirus disease 2019 ( Covid- 19) pandemic.
In a statement on Thursday, Aalcpi President Roberto Cuenca also said that the move to stop importation would “ensure the livelihood of millions of farmers whose lives and families depend on agriculture.”
“We share the same idea that by increasing farm productivity, we ensure food security which will lead to self- sufficiency for the agriculture sector of the country,” Cuenca said, adding that by doing so, “we are giving priority to our farmers and producers who are the key to our nation’s food security.”
Cuenca also said it was the “duty” of Filipino farmers to “feed every Filipino and not rely on other countries for food, especially in this time of pandemic.”
The sugar industry, Cuenca noted, stand alongside other agriculture industries like rice, poultry and hog, among others.
“Together, we can make a stronger agriculture sector that will not only be able to feed each and every Filipino, but will also be able to feed the world,” Cuenca added.
Farmers’ groups and organizations have welcomed the sudden backtracking on the need to import 300,000 metric tons of rice by the DA and the Department of Trade and Industry through the Philippine International Trading Corp.
They, however, reminded the government to ensure support to local production to ensure the steady supply of food during the Covid- 19 pandemic.
EIREENE JAIREE GOMEZ
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is likely to cut policy rates by another 25 basis points in the second half if the economy needs another boost, they said.
On job losses, FMIC and U&AP said the high unemployment rate reported in April was unlikely to “show up again” in the next employment survey results in July.
Prospects for 2021 are also “brighter” on the possible availability of a coronavirus vaccine by then, they said.
“With the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announcing the availability of a vaccine by the end of the year, and some medication proving [to be] effective, 2021 may usher in a much brighter scenario,” FMIC and UA&P added.