“We have to unite for a food secure Philippines.”
This was the clear message of incoming Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar to the officials of the Department of Agriculture (DA) during a meeting held at the Bureau of Soils and Water management on August 6, 2019.
Less than a 24 hours after Dar took his oath of office before President Rodrigo Duterte in Malacañang, the returning agri chief laid down his priority agenda for the first 100 days of his administration.
To attain the vision of food security, Dar stressed that DA will need to reshape and strengthen its existing programs toward increasing productivity and competitiveness, while doubling farmers’ and fisherfolk’s income.
“We have to ensure food security with prosperous farmers and fisherfolk,” Dar said.
In line with this, he proposed strategies built around eight paradigms including modernization; industrialization; enhanced promotion of exports; farm consolidation; roadmap development; infrastructure development; higher budget and investments; and legislative support.
Dar also highlighted that the Department will not only focus in production, but will embrace a value chain approach beyond productivity.
“Aside from production, we will focus on value-adding, processing, and marketing,” he said.
“The private sector’s role will be essential in developing and promoting agricultural products. Magtutulungan ang gobyerno at private sector para umangat ang buhay at kabuhayan ng mga magsasaka at mangingisda,” Dar said.
For his first 100 days, Dar will ensure that the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) is properly carried out including the management of the P10 billion (B) Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF).
“I will personally see that the law is properly and efficiently implemented.” he said.
Under his administration, Dar also announced that the DA will carry out a “Crop Diversification Strategy” and strengthen the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) to serve as basis for credit and other social benefits. ### (KMerle/ORodriguez, DA-AFID)
