DA taps private sector help to boost food supply

The Department of Agriculture (DA) has signed three separate agreements with Aboitiz Foundation Inc. and Pilmico Foods Corp, TriMerA Integrated Farm and SM Supermalls to work on various projects aimed at ensuring sufficient food supply in the country.

The agency’s tie-up with Aboitiz Foundation and Pilmico entails putting up urban and peri-urban gardens.

Aboitiz Foundation and Pilmico will likewise provide packages for egg and swine production, as well as aquaponics farming systems.

TriMerA, meanwhile, will identify areas suitable for rabbit production and then train personnel, who will later train others who may want to pick up the trade.

It will sustain the project through the dissemination of new stocks from the project beneficiaries. TriMerA will also lead the marketing and distribution of the produce.

For its part, the agency, along with the Bureau of Plant Industry, Bureau of Animal Industry and National Livestock Program, will provide starter kits; information, education and communication materials; and extension/education support in coordination with the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI).

SM Supermalls, on the other hand, will establish food gardens that will provide safe, accessible and affordable food to households and communities in urban areas.

The gardens will also provide additional income to project participants, who will undergo training and capacity enhancement at ATI, the DA’s training arm.

DA forges these partnerships as part of efforts to ensure stable food supply amid continuing lockdowns to contain the spread of COVID-19. INQ