Reiterating the vision of ensuring a food-secure Philippines, with prosperous farmers and fishers, Agriculture Secretary William Dar said that biotechnology is one of the options to enable and assure sustainable food production.

“As we increase our population, we need to level up our productivity per unit area. And you know, today and in the future, it’s only through science and technology that the level of productivity will be increased,” Dar explained.

Speaking in front of the personnel of the Department of Agriculture (DA) during the Monday flag-raising ceremony on December 2 in Quezon City, Dar said that the government will exhaust all efforts and explore all possibilities to provide accessible, nutritious and safe food for all.

He added that with the multitude uses of land, agricultural terrains continue to dwindle and diminish.

“Do you know that three to five million hectares of those previously considered forest lands are no longer forests in many ways?” he revealed.

The Secretary added that government agencies including the Departments of Environment and Agrarian Reform have discussed measures to address the issue.

“That is one indication that the government wants to put in place strategies to segregate and dedicate areas for food production,” Dar said. ### (DA-AFID)