THE Department of Agriculture (DA) set a 3.5% target for production growth next year, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said Tuesday.
Mr. Piñol said the department has been advised by economic managers to maintain 2% annual growth to keep pace with 1.7% population growth, but the department hopes to hit 2.5% growth this year and 3.5% in 2019.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said agricultural output grew by 0.15% in the first nine months of the year.
“The economic managers asked DA to maintain a growth of 2%. It has to keep up with the population growth of 1.7%. I think 2% is doable. We are confident that we can hit it,” Mr. Piñol told reporters at a news conference in Quezon City, noting that he hopes to exceed the minimum set for the department.
A decline was seen in the crops and fisheries sub-sectors due to typhoons while gains were reported in the livestock and poultry sub-sectors. Mr. Piñol said the department has been stepping up its efforts to increase access to loans by farmers and fishermen to increase output.
Mr. Piñol said that starting next year, the Philippines will be able to replace with domestic production most of the fish it currently imports.
“Middle of this year, I called all the regional directors of BFAR and directed to rehabilitate all the existing hatcheries nationwide… We are expecting to produce two billion fingerlings by next year,” Mr. Piñol said.
He also said the rice sector is expected to post productivity gains upon implementation of the rice tariffication bill which was approved in the Senate. He said the DA is embarking on a so-called “Southern Wing” program to develop Samar, Leyte, Bohol, Palawan, Mindoro, and Central Mindanao specifically the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
“Samar has a lot of resources. It has a lot of fertile soil and big river systems. Over the next two years we will be able to develop 100,000 hectares in Samar alone, at (a yield of) 6 metric tons (MT) per hectare per harvest,” Mr. Piñol said.
“We are focusing on Lanao del Sur. We have sent 20 tractors to Lanao del Sur to cultivate rice fields,” he added.
Mr. Piñol added that upon implementation of the rice tariffication law, the National Food Authority (NFA) may no longer sell rice at P27 per kilo.
“We would like to be clearly guided who will supply DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development) with rice in case of calamities… We used to supply DSWD using our imported rice. Now that we’re not allowed to import, the role of NFA has been largely relegated to buffer stocking,” Mr. Piñol said.
“We would like to know what will happen to the government subsidized rice in the market which is sold at P27. Obviously if we procure locally, we cannot sell at 27 because we will be losing a lot of money. This early, the recommendation of the technical working group (TWG) of the NFA is that if we buy locally, we would have to sell at P36 per kilo so that we will not lose money,” Mr. Piñol added.
He said that options include imposing a suggested retail price (SRP) or subsidies by the national government.
“Even without the regulatory powers of NFA, we still have the Price Act where the DA can play the lead role,” Mr. Piñol said.
He said, however, that rice production will be improved through the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), a feature of the tariffication bill. More efficient rice farmers are expected to ultimately decrease the price of rice.
“We will be giving out good quality seed, and production will increase while cost of production will be lowered,” Mr. Piñol said.
The DA will need to come up with Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) within 45 days after the bill is signed. — Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR