The Department of Agriculture is set to transform the City of Taguig as another “Agri-Aqua Industrial Business Corridor,” which targets to enhance farmers’ productivity and boost the national economy at the same time.

“With all the existing facilities now by the Laguna Lake, I see a bigger potential for Taguig,” Agriculture Secretary William Dar said on July 20.

He added that the city could be the gateway to Metro Manila in many ways with the whole of Laguna Lake as a major ecosystem that needs to be rehabilitated to support aquaculture and be developed in a sustainable fashion.

“Farmers and fisherfolk from Rizal and Laguna could come directly to Taguig using their boats to bring their produce and see to it that we have all the cold storages, the warehouses, and of course the open markets for people to come in a big way,” Secretary Dar said.

Bigger plans for Taguig City were identified during the signing of Memorandum of Agreement for the Urban Agriculture Project (UAP) and meeting for the Multi-Agency Agricultural Government Assistance Program (MAAGAP) Para sa Kinabukasan sa Taguig on July 20, 2020.

According to the secretary, MAAGAP is just Phase 1 of a bigger concept of an agri-aqua industrial business corridor.

“Let’s build up from here and plan for bigger than what we have today,” he said.

Under the overarching framework for a food-secured and resilient Philippines with prosperous farmers and fisherfolk, the program applies the ‘New Thinking in Philippine Agriculture” and explores rural–urban symbiosis and public-private community partnerships.

Specifically, the UAP and MAAGAP for Taguig aim at enhancing urban food security and nutrition, providing an additional source of income through processing and improving efficiencies in the food value chain, addressing social integration of vulnerable communities, and contributing to urban ecological management.

Taguig City Mayor Lino Cayetano committed to support the DA’s vision for food and water security. He also presented the city’s plan for supporting its agriculture and fisheries sector for sustainability.

House Speaker and Taguig City–Pateros Representative Alan Peter Cayetano and Taguig Representative Maria Laarni Cayetano, who were at the event, also expressed their support for the agriculture sector.

Taguig City will be next to the New Clark City, which is set to host the country’s first agri-aqua industrial business corridor. ### (Gumamela Celes Bejarin, DA-AFID)