Agriculture Secretary William Dar underscored the importance of bringing back soil health in achieving the country’s goal of “improving agriculture productivity and profitability” during the launching and ceremonial turnover of Knowledge Products under the Sustainable Land Management Project of the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM) and United Nations Development Programme – Global Environment Facility.

According to Secretary Dar, sustainable land management is key to save, restore, and enhance the country’s land and water resources.

“This is vital as we face the potential threat of hunger brought by the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.

The Knowledge Products, which were presented on June 17, 2020 at the Convention Hall of the BSWM, aim to address land degradation and mitigate the effects of drought. These include:

• Supplemental Guidelines for Mainstreaming Sustainable Land Management in the Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) to the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board
• Technology Manuals for DA Regional Offices and Program Focal
• Muyong Agro-Forestry Ridge Stabilization System for Addressing Soil Erosion on Adaptative Balanced Fertilization Management for Addressing Soil Fertility Decline
• Guidebooks for DA Regional Offices and Program Focals (Composite Land Degradation Index Mapping; and City/Municipal Agro-Environmental Data Model)
• Training Manuals (Sustainable Land Management Training Manuals for Trainors of  the DA Agricultural Training Institute; and Manual on the Preparation of the ILMF Plan and Mainstreaming SLM in the CLUP to the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board)

Secretary Dar said that the Department will benchmark on the science-based and technology-based agriculture sector, as visionary reforms are necessary for the development of the local food production scene.

He also encouraged partners to contribute to the government’s effort to strengthen research and development, technology utilization, and upscaling of products. ### (Kristel Merle, DA-AFID)