Farm support services, fertilizer seen as crucial for boosting food security
THE AGRICULTURE sector needs better farm support services in order to achieve food security, according to a paper written by former Department of Agriculture (DA) officials.
In the paper, former Secretary Leonardo Q. Montemayor and former National Dairy Authority Administrator Salvacion M. Bulatao said some immediate measures could include improving the distribution of fertilizer and updating the farmers’ registry.
“No component of support services is fool-proof. Safeguarding against unwanted results requires a steady stream of feedback from the final recipients of the services,” they said.
The paper recommended giving farmers vouchers to buy their preferred type, brand, or variety of fertilizer.
It added that the Registry System of Basic Sectors in Agriculture used by the DA that assists to track and identify farmer beneficiaries needs to be updated.
“The system needs to be maintained and updated, for it to continue to be useful. It must also involve the barangay so farmers can check whether they are properly listed, and initiate inclusion or exclusion processes as needed,” they said.
They also recommended integrated and sustained location-specific interventions for farmers, noting that the current way of doing things has had little impact because the process is not sustained, compartmentalized, and disjointed.
“Thus, the benefits from one intervention get offset by losses due to the absence of other equally important interventions. Plus, many of the interventions are not specifically designed for the problems and priorities of specific areas,” they said.
They added that local government units should be encouraged to provide road network maps for the projects, with the DA providing geo-tagging support.
The authors said mechanization initiatives should take place across the food value chain and improve the promotion and training of service providers for maintenance and servicing.
“It should include basic food processing of farm produce and support for food development. The cold chain system and the installation of powdering facilities can be added to existing community fish ports and other production sites,” the paper said.
The DA has announced that it will hold a National Food Security Summit on May 18-19 to discuss concerns affecting agriculture, such as African Swine Fever.
Industry groups such as the Pork Producers Federation of the Philippines, Inc. and United Broiler Raisers Association said they will boycott the food security summit. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
