MANILA: Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. on Thursday highlighted a four-year plan to boost local food production and lower food inflation in the country.

During the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon briefing, Laurel said the plan includes medium-term strategies that would benefit farmers and consumers in the long run.

“We already have a masterplan on how to do what needs to be done para mapababa ang presyo, at maincrease ang production at kumita ang farmers at fisherman natin (to lower the price [of food], increase production, and benefit our farmers and fishers),” he said.

‘Hopefully ma-increase ang production natin, mapababa ang quantity ng ating ini-import. And hopefully mapababa rin iyong presyo ng pagkain in general (we would increase our production, lower our import volumes. And hopefully, drop the food prices in general),’ he added.

These four major projects include the USD320 million-worth Philippine Solar Irrigation Project; USD350 million internationally-funded farm-to-market bridge construc
tion; USD400 to USD500 million budget allocation for post-harvest facilities; as well as the logistics chain modernization program which includes the improvement of the country’s ports.

Besides this, the DA also plans to advance the digitalization of its system to secure centralized data from the ground to the command center for decision-making and the use of smart farming to reduce the consumption of seeds and fertilizers per hectare.

Laurel earlier ordered the creation of three teams to complete feasibility studies on the priority infrastructure projects of the DA.

He, meanwhile, assured the public that the DA now has a clearer direction.

‘Just a little bit more patience noh, bago pa lang ako dito sa aking trabaho, although malinaw na ang direksyon natin sa DA (I’m just new in my job, although our direction in the DA is clear) on how to move forward,” Laurel said.

Among the recent challenges encountered by the DA include the high retail price of rice, the issue of the alleged improper sale of rice buff
er stock of the National Food Authority, and other importation issues, among others.

Despite these, the DA continuously beefs up efforts to achieve its food security and sufficiency targets.

“Ang problema natin ay hindi maliit na problema, medyo malaking issues na kailangan nating i-tackle (Our problem is not a small problem, we need to tackle huge issues). But we already have the solutions,” Laurel added.

Source: Philippines News Agency