MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday said he wanted to provide farmers with data-driven information to help address the issue of overproduction.
During a sectoral meeting with Agriculture Secretary Francisco Laurel Jr. and other officials, Marcos ordered the creation of a data-driven information system.
“It’s another part of data-driven decisions that we give to the farmers, the producers. Kung ano ang mabenta at this time, this season. So that hindi natin maririning ‘yung mga balita na nag-over produce, hindi mabenta, nabubulok na lang, pinamimigay na lang,” Marcos said.
(It’s another part of data-driven decisions that we give to the farmers, the producers. What is being sold at this time, this season. So that we do not hear of news that there is overproduction, that it just gets spoiled or given away.)
President Ferdinand Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. (Ryan Leagogo/INQUIRER.net file photo)
Laurel himself, however, admitted in a Palace briefing that there is no accurate government data, loosely estimating that 30 percent of vegetables is lost.
Laurel said that overproduction was a result of poor planning.
“Ang overproduction is also a result of poor planning, so planning on, you know, when to plant, when to harvest and coordinating with the market – it’s a whole ecosystem that we need to refine with the DA of course and the LGU (local government unit) and the cooperatives and the farmers,” said Laurel in English and Filipino.
Asked about how to avoid overproduction, Laurel said it was best to have cold storage facilities to extend the shelf life of food.