President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said identifying non-traditional suppliers, improving research and development, and adopting new crop varieties are on his bucket list as Agriculture Secretary.
“In terms of production, we have to help the farmers. We are trying to adopt new techniques for farming that will actually, I think, be able to use new technology, new varieties of crops. We have to start with the R&D,” Mr. Marcos said in a televised interview.
The President said he is coordinating with several other countries as he tries to develop non-traditional suppliers, particularly for the supply of fertilizer, wheat, rice, and corn.
“Hopefully, down the road, we no longer have to worry about non-traditional supply because we will be able to produce enough for ourselves,” Mr. Marcos said.
The President also acknowledged that scheduling importation is critical for both sugar and onion, among other agricultural produce.
“We are not producing as much as we consume, and therefore, we still have to import,” the Chief Executive said.
Mr. Marcos said that once he has addressed these items, “then, we will have a [DA] secretary who will then take my place and will implement that plan,” he said.
The President said he would appoint a permanent Secretary of Agriculture who is an expert in the field, stressing he wants to do the “old, hard things” at the department.
The DA chief should be an agriculture expert who understands the science and the solution, Mr. Marcos said, noting the sector is a very complicated subject.
The President’s “dreams” for the country’s agriculture sector are attaining sustainable livelihood for farmers, having affordable food for all, as well as food security.
Meanwhile, Sultan Kudarat Rep. Horacio Suansing Jr. on Monday asked Congress to summon “in due time” several individuals and consignees to shed light on the issue of agricultural smuggling.
At the hearing conducted by the House ways and means committee, Suansing made the call in the wake of reports of underdeclared or misdeclared agriculture products entering the country.
“Given these alarming reports, and in the interest of forging and building credibility and confidence in our government processes and institutions, I believe that it is incumbent upon this Chamber to exercise its oversight functions to scrutinize data reported by our own government agencies,” he said.
It was also the solons’ duty “to reconcile these data with those reported by international and multilateral organizations, and to recommend legislation and remedial measures, whenever necessary,” he said.
“Furthermore, in light of the innumerable reports on widespread, large-scale smuggling of agricultural commodities in the country, in due time, I, as principal author of House Resolution No. 311, would like to request the Committee on Ways and Means to issue subpoenas for the following brokers, importers, and facilitators allegedly involved in large-scale agricultural smuggling in local ports in the Philippines,” he added.
During the hearing, Suansing mentioned names of several individuals and consignees who are allegedly involved in smuggling.
The Department of Agriculture on Monday announced the first tranche of imported onions has arrived with 400 metric tons (MT) of yellow onion and 800 MT of red onions now stored in accredited cold storages.
Agriculture deputy spokesperson Rex Estoperez said the imported onions are yet to be infused to the local supply chain pending the conduct of sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS).
He said the imports will be distributed to markets in Luzon and those coming in through the Visayas and Mindanao Ports, “except for the yellow onion whose importation is for Luzon’s consumption only.”