By Brian Jules Campued
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. ordered the Department of Agriculture (DA) on Tuesday to implement a data-driven information system in every planting season that can help farmers to limit the production of agricultural products to those which are sellable in certain periods and could help effectively address overproduction in the market.
During the sectoral meeting tackling DA’s plans for its “Para Sa Masaganang Bagong Pilipinas Program”, President Marcos emphasized the need to provide farmers with technical knowledge, upgrade the processing of goods, and develop facilities that would help them gain more value for their products.
“It’s another part of data-driven decisions that we give to the farmers, the producers. Kung ano ang mabenta at this time, this season. So that hindi natin maririning ‘yung mga balita na nag-overproduce, hindi mabenta, nabubulok na lang, pinamimigay na lang,” the Chief Executive said.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel also presented during the meeting, the department’s three-year plan for the country’s agricultural sector to ensure food security including the digitalization of the agri-fisheries sector.
Also discussed during the meeting were the updates regarding cold storage and postharvest facilities in the country, reducing food prices, the proposed amendments on the Philippine Fisheries Code, and the drafting of an executive order establishing Strategic Agriculture and Fisheries Development Zones.
The National Food Authority (NFA) has allocated more than P93 billion for the Masagana Agri-Food Infrastructure Modernization (MAFIM) Program in 2023-2024 which will be used for the procurement of dryers, silos, warehouses, rice mills, corn mills, and handling equipment throughout the country.
Additionally, the NFA has allotted a total of P29.8 billion for biomass and solar power substations for post-harvest projects.
The DA added that the current losses in corn and rice post-harvest are about 494,000 metric tons or P10.76 billion per year.
On the other hand, Laurel noted that through the procurement of paddy dryers, the production of milled rice could reach about 3.89 million metric tons per year, with a recovery rate of 63% after milling.
Meanwhile, the DA has also established a total of 268 cold chain facilities nationwide as of November 2023 while an additional 47 are expected to be completed by June 2028.
The agency added that it also plans to set up four chiller storage projects in La Union or Baguio City, Taguig City, Quezon, and Occidental Mindoro amounting to a total budget of P1 billion. – avds
