No food shortage in lean months, says DA
By Tonette Orejas
Central Luzon Desk
First Posted 22:23:00 05/17/2008
Filed Under: Food, Agriculture, rice problem
CANDABA, PAMPANGA -- The government is working to avert a food shortage in the country during or after the wet cropping season when typhoons usually strike, Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said.
“I don’t see that happening,” Yap told reporters after gracing the farmers’ day in this town on Friday. He joined farmers in rice harvesting and planting, and sent off a truck loaded with P200,000 worth of rice, vegetables and tilapia bound for a trading station.
“[Local governments] don’t expect that situation either. In the provinces, there are substitute food crops like corn and cassava. The cities are getting the bulk of the supplies in the market,” he said.
“The [National Food Authority] is working to ensure it can put rice on every table,” Yap said.
He declined to answer if the NFA was going to import more rice this time, saying only “10 percent in lack of supply was contracted by the NFA.”
Yap nevertheless assured that the Department of Agriculture was also unloading more than P10 billion worth of assistance to farmers this rainy season, from May to October.
Of the country’s 2.58 million hectares of agricultural areas, at least 1.79 million hectares planted to rice will get certified seeds worth P1.3 billion (at P760 per bag). The hybrid varieties, costing P1,500 per bag, total P180 million. Funds for pesticides support amount to P1 billion.
He said there is P6 billion allotted for irrigation, P6 billion for the construction of farm-to-market roads until 2009, and P2 billion for post-harvest facilities.
Yap said these are on top of the P5 billion that local officials planned to use from out of the P12 billion President Macapagal-Arroyo recently ordered released from the 2001 and 2004 internal revenue allotments from the national government.
“More than 40 governors saw me last Tuesday and they said they would use portions of that IRA to support the food security program especially for corn, vegetables and palay,” Yap said.
“We have the funds. We have to start planting for the wet season in six weeks,” Yap said.
Asked if the DA was working to bring down the cost of farming inputs, which has been the clamor of tillers, he said the agency has been partly subsidizing the cost of certified seeds and pesticides.
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