Author: DA-AFID | 20 March 2017
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol took his “Biyaheng Bukid” consultation tour to Panay over the weekend as he extended P307 million worth of “interventions” to its four provinces, from farm-to market roads to post-harvest facilities to further boost food production in the country.
The provinces are Antique, Aklan, Capiz and Iloilo.
A total of 68 kilometers of farm-to-market roads will be built in San Remigio, the poorest town in Antique, to connect it to commercial centers, he said, while committing to provide a cold-storage facility, which the province’s fisher folk requested to reduce post-harvest losses.
These were the highlights of Pinol’s visit to this province where, during his first Tapatan: Gobyerno at Mamamayan forum, he stressed that the building blocks of a successful Philippine agriculture are technology, financing and marketing.
Visiting Culasi town in Antique, Piñol revealed he was providing a total of P69.278 million in agricultural support for the province’s farmers and fisher folk.
In Aklan, Vice Governor Reynaldo M. Quimpo told Sec. Piñol that agriculture is the province’s main driver for growth on top of tourism, with 82 percent of its land area of 8,543 hectares devoted to agriculture.
Later, in a speech at the Aklan State University, Piñol encouraged the province to focus on food production since it already has guaranteed markets enriched by tourism, with Boracay drawing heavy local and foreign tourist arrivals.
The province’s production of pineapple fiber, one of Aklan’s traditionally successful industries, is facing challenges, farmers told Piñol.
These include deceasing employment, as workers are shying away because of the government’s 4Ps program for the poor, and problems about planting materials especially those sourced from the red Spanish variety. Farmers favor this variety for its fiber, which has properties that particularly fit products used as materials for piña barong, bags and garlands, among others.
During his three-day visit that also took him to Camp Peralta in Jamindan Capiz, Piñol provided 1,000 fingerings and 1,550 different fruit-bearing trees, which could be planted in arable land inside the military camp.
The produce, the Agriculture chief said, could feed the camp’s soldiers as well as provide affordable food for people living in surrounding areas.
Major General Jon Aying, commander of 3rd Infantry Spearhead Division of the Philippine Army, offered 33,000 hectares inside the camp to be used for agri-fisheries, an endeavor that could help alleviate local poverty, which he said is a major source of unrest in the surrounding areas.
During his stop at the Sigma Civic Center, Piñol talked about the major undertakings and initiatives that have marked his first eight months in office.
Topping the list is the interactive color-coded agricultural guide map that shows which areas in the country are suitable to certain crops, as well as pinpoints the prevailing local risk factors, which could go a long way in eliminating guesswork for local farmers.
Another major initiative is a fast and effective credit program for the farmers, called the Farmers and Fisherfolk Quick Credit Facility, which is pending approval by the Congress. Piñol is also seeking the integration of crop insurance each time a farmer would avail of a loan from the DA.
Another initiative is the solar-powered irrigation system, which Piñol is pushing as an “efficient and fast irrigation solution” for farm areas.
While visiting Iloilo, the hometown of his grandparents, Piñol emphasized that he is focusing on agricultural technology, financing and marketing as the main factors that would help achieve the goal of food self-sufficiency during the term of President Rodrigo Duterte.
Piñol provided P102 million worth of agricultural support for Iloilo, some P3 million of which he said came from the fund of Sen. Loren Legarda, raising the total of agricultural support he brought to Panay to P307 million.
While in Iloilo, he opened the Research and Development Center for Organic Agriculture, which will serve as training and demo area for farmers, fisherfolks, students, entrepreneurs, and other stakeholders interested in organic agriculture.
This will encourage more farmers to shift to organic farming, which ultimately will help boost food production, the Secretary said.
Capping off his Panay visit, Piñol led in the groundbreaking ceremonies for a three-storey DA-Regional Field Office 6 in Fort San Pedro in Iloilo. He reminded DA regional employees in his message to focus on helping farmers boost food production.
“I hope that my presence here would let you feel that I would like to work closely with you,” the Secretary said. (Carlos Cezar Baldosa DA-AFID)
Reference:
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE – RFO 6
Regional Agriculture and Fisheries Information Section (RAFIS) 6
Fort San Pedro, Iloilo City 5000
Tel Nos. (033) 337-9092
