LINGAYEN, Pangasinan—The provincial government wants to transform Pangasinan into a major Agro-Industrial Hub in Northern Luzon.
For its initial step, a multi-sectoral technical orientation and consultative meeting with major stakeholders on the proposed People-Oriented Governance Initiative (Pogi) for Agri-Industrial Development (AgriDev) of Pangasinan was conducted on Oct. 19 at the Capitol Resort Hotel here.
In that meeting, stakeholders were briefed on the framework/concept of the Pogi AgriDev Pangasinan program where responsibilities were discussed and which sectors, as a commitment of support, would handle these responsibilities.
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Earlier, Gov. Amado Espino III, in his First 100 Days Report, hinted on his plan to launch his flagship program on agriculture, noting with organized effort, the correct package of technologies, financing schemes, post-harvest and manufacturing facilities, as well as proper marketing strategies, Pangasinense farmers could possibly graduate from being mere tenants and traditional farmers into agri-business entrepreneurs.
Aside from this, Espino disclosed farmer groups could be transformed from mere cooperatives into cooperative enterprises which would then help the entire province become a more vibrant and progressive agro-industrial economy.
With this concept, he urged the participation and commitment of every sector to make his administration’s flagship program succeed.
The proposed Pogi AgriDev Pangasinan program has three major components: production, processing, and marketing.
Matters taken up during the initial meeting included institutional development, capacity building, extension/support services, research and development, financing/networking, and marketing.
Meanwhile, former Agriculture secretary William Dar, who now serves as the president of Inanglupa Movement, presented during the consultative meeting a report titled “Institutionalizing Partnerships in Agriculture, Rural Industrialization and Social Enterprise Context on Asean Economic Cooperation.”
Dar outlined that although agriculture only contributed 10 percent of the country’s GDP (gross domestic product), the sector employed about 11 million of the entire labor force nationwide.
Dar also noted with the country’s rural poverty incidence, which posted 40 percent in 2014, the farmers, fisherfolks and the upland dwellers were considered the “poorest of the poor.”
As such, Dar said the high poverty incidence could be attributed to low farming productivity, limited farmland diversification, under developed agri-food manufacturing export.
All three lead to low income and weak job creation, he added.