Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol on Tuesday unveiled a strategy to boost rice and corn production and achieve food sufficiency.
“ There is now a paradigm shift in many of the DA’s programs and priorities,” Piñol said.
Piñol said for rice, he designed a program called Rice Productivity Enhancement which would involve a thorough review of the country’s water management and irrigation policies.
The program aims to conduct a nationwide soil analysis, improve rice farming technology, introduce high-yielding rice varieties, implement effective soil rehabilitation and fertilizer program and provide modern harvest and post-harvest facilities to minimize losses.
Piñol said the department would also focus on producing more white corn for corn-eating provinces.
“There must be a viable program to produce more white corn to supply the grains requirements of the corn-eating provinces like Negros Oriental, Siquijor, Bohol, Cebu, Biliran, Leyte, Southern Leyte, the three provinces of Samar and Northern Mindanao,” Piñol said.
He said for the livestock and poultry sectors, the country should develop feed components supplies and lessen dependence on imported materials such as soya.
“For our fish and marine products sufficiency, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources is now tasked to implement a nationwide program against illegal fishing and a three-month closed season during the spawning period of the distinct fish species in the different parts of the country,” Piñol said.
Piñol said the Agriculture Department would also intensify funding and support for the production of high-value fish species such as lapu-lapu and maya-maya.
He said for irrigation, the agency would focus more on small and community-based irrigation projects. “There will be a shift in the irrigation mindset,” he said.
“The DA will also be introducing solar-powered irrigation facilities, especially in remote villages which are not connected to the grid to provide water not only for the rice fields but also for vegetable gardens and for drinking purposes and most of all, to provide electric power to the community,” Piñol said.