To achieve the country’s food sovereignty goals, the Department of Agriculture (DA) will need a higher annual budget of up to P290 billion, Secretary William Dar said.
During the second day of the National Management Committee (ManCom) meeting on May 3, 2022 in Davao City, Dar identified the main weaknesses of the agriculture sector — budget, synergy and productivity.
He recommended that the successor of President Rodrigo Duterte should increase the Agriculture department’s annual budget to P290 billion to significantly support the country’s food sovereignty goals.
Dar also requested the DA ManCom members to aim high, stay alert and push harder, especially at this critical time when the world order is changing and there is a brewing food crisis.
“This is an emergency. Again, double time. Aim much, much higher,” Dar told DA officials.
The agriculture chief explained that the world is in trouble as it faces a double whammy — the food crisis that is seen to coincide with a “stagflation” or the combination of a recession and high inflation.
“We have to get moving. The smallest inefficiencies, in this time of crisis, will mean people going hungry. This National ManCom then muscles in on the critical moves of the DA in the month. It is important that the transition to the next managers be seamless, at least in terms of our emergency responses to the coming food crisis,” Dar said.
In addition to inefficiency, he strongly warned against corruption and condemned illegal activities. He also stressed that sleeping on the job at a time of a food crisis is outright criminal negligence for civil servants in the agri-fishery sector.
In terms of synergy, the whole-of-nation approach will be applied by the OneDA family as its guiding principle to make coordination seamless.
To increase productivity, Dar stressed that the Plant, Plant, Plant Program Part 2 remains to be the department’s ultimate priority.
“Magbanat tayo ng buto. May krisis sa pagkain (We will work hard. There is a food crisis). We really have to enhance Plant, Plant, Plant for all banner and present programs. But we do it with clear heads: the formulation of the National Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization and Industrialization Plan (NAFMIP) and the endorsement of the PCAF (Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries) committees are overwhelming support for us to lay down the strategic foundation of the sector for the next ten years,” he stated.
Dar further noted that the NAFMIP is a lasting legacy that will outlive presidents and agriculture secretaries.
“The sector should be nourished by vision, ambition and guts. I see it in many of you. But these should be converted into legacy. Aim high and consistently elevate. There is no turning back,” Dar told the ManCom members.
He also asked them to focus on the goal of food sovereignty or the determination and capability of the country to provide food for its people.
“Focus on food sovereignty, my OneDA family. Let it move you to action over and beyond. This is our play for the future of our children, which will outlast the effects of elections, and I hope, soothe our societal divisions,” Dar said. ### (Eireene Jairee Gomez)
