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Sec.
Arthur Yap
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The
Department of Agriculture (DA) is into a new scheme to make
farmers earn more money at the point of production and not
just the traders who earned more money at the point of sale.
DA
Secretary Arthur Yap said in a press statement that making
agriculture profitable producers would also make food products
more available and more affordable prices for low-income
consumers.
This
will happen, he said, when the need to “business-ize”
agriculture in the Philippines has been developed through
establishing direct linkages between farm production areas
and major consumption centers to bridge the wide gap between
the farmgate costs and retail prices of basic food items.
Yap
cited for instance that even though Philippines corners
60 percent of the world coconut trade, the government has
yet to link with the private sector to commercialize technologies
that have already been developed to boost production and
enhance the quality and diversity of this top food export.
“In the world of rising food demand and scarce resources,
the only way to ensure the sustainability of Philippine
agriculture is to guarantee the profitability of the sector
for our farmers and fisherfolk,” he said.
Yap
said under the five programs of President Arroyo’s
“8 by 08” agenda or social payback to the masses
among others, hunger has been eased, cost of living pulled
down, more jobs created, and more investments generated
especially in the countryside.
To
support such agenda, he said their focus is on market access,
rural infrastructure, post harvest and storage facilities,
credit, financial and insurance support, research development,
rural extension work and training.
Meanwhile
Yap said another DA’s initiative is the opening up
of more “bagsakan” or drop-off centers and barangay
food terminals (BFTs), where farm producers can directly
sell their produce. Under this setup, farmers earn P10 to
P20 more a kilo and consumers buy their products at prices
cheaper by P10 to P15 a kilo.
To
further enhance the profitability of Philippine agriculture
for its stakeholders, Yap said the DA needs to invest not
only in R&D and in “bagsakan” centers and
BFTs, but in rehabilitating irrigation systems and constructing
new ones; setting up adequate post-harvest and storage facilities;
expanding export markets; and tapping microfinance and other
credit support facilities for small farmers and fisherfolk.
(Prix D Banzon-PIA XI)
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