Increasing the production of agricultural products was still the center of discussion at the second meeting of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the Department of Agriculture (DA) this Monday.
According to Agriculture Undersecretary Kristine Evangelista, the DA has laid out itsfishers how to help farmers and fishermen increase market supply to meet the demand for various products.
“Ang mga utos din po ng ating mahal na Presidente so he could come up with programs again based on the thrust of increasing production and making agricultural commodities affordable,” said Evangelista.
“Hindi po tayo nag-concentrate sa isang commodity because if we are talking about food security that does not involve only one,” she added.
“It’s a matter really of what is acceptable sa ating mga stakeholders whether it is aimed at increasing production or putting down the cost of production,” she said.
According to Evangelista, the DA will focus on helping farmers, animal keepers, fishermen, and vegetable growers, especially since the increase in production costs in the agricultural sector recently due to the rise in oil prices.
“Doon sa production areas tayo magbubuhos ng lahat ng maitutulong ang kagawaran para mag-increase ang kaniyang production, and sa demand naman to make it reach them at a good price,” said Evangelista.
Increasing production discussed at Marcos’ 2nd meeting with DA
“All in all, it’s always increase in production, affordability of agricultural commodities for consumers is also very important, and also proper mapping out of where are your supplies sources… to help out the farmers,” she said.
Although officials of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) also attended the meeting, Evangelista said it was not discussed how much additional funding would be provided for the DA.
“The nitty gritty and the details of the budget were not discussed,” she said.
“It was basically broad strokes of the program and the direction on how many consumers or farmers do we intend to help with this kind of program,” she added.
Former Agriculture Secretary William Dar had earlier said that the DA would need P12 billion in funding per year to lift the impoverished sector.
That amount is triple the DA’s current budget of only P4 billion.
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