3 agri-fishery projects offer hope to farmers, fisherfolk

The Department of Agriculture, in collaboration with the World Bank, has embarked on three transformative projects, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. announced on Thursday.

With President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. envisioning a future of prosperity, sustainability, and inclusivity, these initiatives hold the key to unlocking the full potential of the agricultural sector.

In his message read by the new DA chief, Marcos said the three projects will pave the way to a more prosperous, sustainable, and inclusive future for the agricultural sector.

These are the Philippine Rural Development Project Scale-Up, the Mindanao Inclusive Agriculture Development Project and the Philippine Fisheries and Coastal Resiliency Project.

"These are part of our strategy to maximize our farmers' and fisherfolk's income, improve their productivity, and ensure food for all," he said.

The President thanked the WB and other development partners for funding the projects and continuously supporting the government programs that address the food sector's concerns.

Marcos guaranteed the attainment and sustainment of the objectives of the projects through a monitoring system that will be created, installed, and effectively enforced under his administration.

Laurel vowed to work hard and carry out the directives of the President to address the needs of the crucial sector through the implementation of strategic projects such as the PRDP, FishCore and MIADP.

In his message, WB Country Director, Dr. Ndiame Diop, said the projects support the DA's priorities to improve food security through investments in critical infrastructure, and postharvest facilities to improve productivity and integrate farmers and fisherfolk into the value chain and markets.

Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa, PRDP Scale Up national project director, said the DA will strictly monitor the projects to strengthen the trust and partnership with local government units and the private sector.

"We will do our best to expand access to technology aligned with the local and national strategies to create a deep and lasting impact on the lives of the farmers and fisherfolk," he said.

The PRDP Scale Up, De Mesa said, will address the constraints in the value chain by establishing infrastructure to ensure solutions to logistical problems and distribution, and support the rural communities.

He said the six-year scale-up project also aims to empower women and enable them to lead sustainable and successful projects.

FishCore, on the other hand, will strengthen fishery management and law enforcement to recover fish stocks and reduce overfishing, while the MIADP seeks to improve indigenous peoples' living conditions through sustainable agri-fishery-based economic activities.

The projects have a total value of $920 million — PRDP Scale Up with $600 million, FishCore with $200 million, and MIADP with $120 million.

Launched on 6 November, the projects will prioritize organizing and clustering associations of farmers, fisherfolk, and indigenous peoples engaged in food production and agri-fisheries.

Stymie smugglers, manipulators

Meanwhile, Laurel said the DA would focus more on local production than letting smugglers and price manipulators profit from importation.

Laurel said this was one of the marching orders of President Marcos.

Banking on his experience in fisheries and private business, the new DA secretary said he believes he can help every Filipino farmer and fisherman improve their skills and production by sharing his expertise in the value chain.

"By modernizing the agriculture sector, we can make it more profitable and attract the younger generation that would ensure the country's food security in the decades to come," Laurel said.

He said the programs started by President Marcos would be continued, like giving farmers free fertilizer, seeds, and technical and financial support.

He said this would follow the President's order to see if other programs could be patterned after his late father, former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.'s, initiatives to boost food production and the agri-fishery sector.

Laurel said the programs will start this year with the approval of a P4.73- billion allocation for the department's modernization and machines for the agriculture and fishery sectors.

He said the President also instructed him to strengthen the farmer and fisherfolk associations and cooperatives, which would have much more direct links to government assistance programs for the sector.