YEARENDER
DA manages to pull off balancing act
By Amy R. Remo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 22:02:00 12/24/2008
Filed Under: rice problem, Agriculture, Consumer Issues, International (Foreign)Trade
Read Part 1: RP shows how to survive rice crisis
Read Part 2: DA applies reforms to sustain growth
(Conclusion)
At the height of the oil and rice crises this year, the Department of Agriculture had to do a great balancing act of attending to the needs not only of the consumers but also of the other stakeholders in the agricultural sector—the farmers, fishers, livestock raisers and food processors.
To cushion the impact of the rising oil and rice prices on consumers, particularly the poor, the DA aggressively expanded linkages between farm producers and market centers.
As of Dec. 15, 2008, the DA has set up 189 Bagsakan Sa Barangay outlets or food terminals, 37 drop-off points for agricultural products and 14,585 Tindahan Natin outlets that sell basic food items such as rice and noodles at prices 10 percent lower than those in the regular retail outlets.
These marketing linkages worked well not only for the consumers, who were assured of adequate supply and stable prices of agricultural products, but also for the farm producers who were guaranteed of markets for their produce both here and overseas.
The DA helped agricultural producers explore new markets for their products by spearheading the country’s participation in various foods shows and trade exhibits overseas. Their participation in these events resulted in $447.91 million in booked sales for Filipino exporters selling a wide variety of goods such as seafoods, banana, tamarind and coconut and vegetables.
In the meantime, the DA has crafted packages to address the concerns of specific sectors in agriculture that were badly hit by the surge in fuel prices.
For corn, the department carried out a four-point program that called for the infusion of huge investments into infrastructure and post-harvest facilities to sustain high corn production and allow the Philippines to penetrate the global export market.
This involved expanding the farm lands devoted to corn; encouraging more farmers to use organic fertilizers to reduce costs; pushing the use of hybrid corn technology; and improving the shelling, drying and storage methods of corn growers by constructing additional post-harvest processing and trading centers nationwide.
The DA invested in developing 75,000 hectares of new corn fields, mostly in Mindanao. This program was aimed at further boosting corn production by at least 250,000 MT.
Also, the fisheries sector suffered from severe fuel price shocks this year, prompting the DA to carry out measures including the search for new fishing grounds overseas and the harnessing of diplomatic channels to expand export markets for Filipino fish suppliers.
Conservation measures were put in place, such as the imposition of a ban on killing, catching and selling of sardines, herring and mackerel in the Visayan Sea in line with efforts to protect and preserve the marine species in this rich fishing ground.
For the livestock sector, the DA started implementing a four-point action plan to help the industry recover from the spate of animal diseases in 2007 and reverse the decline in production this year. The plan included a P40-million vaccination program, P50-million allocation for swine restocking and feeds incentives, and a P20-million feed assistance program for hog growers.
With all these measures in place, Agriculture Secretary Arthur C. Yap is hoping that the country’s agriculture sector will fare much better in 2009. Earlier, he said the DA is hoping to sustain a 4- to 5-percent farm sector growth next year.
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