Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel, Jr. on Tuesday, 5 December, submitted his ad interim appointment for confirmation by the Commission on Appointments.

Laurel was appointed on 3 November by President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. as secretary of the Department of Agriculture, a portfolio that the president held for over a year to underscore the sector's importance in ensuring food security and job creation since it employs one in every four working Filipinos.

"I am now 56 and I've been called to serve the country—to lead it out of high food prices; low food production; broken food supply chains; lack of irrigation, cold storage, credit, and other key inputs; and aging farmers and fisherfolk. Add climate change and geopolitical disruptions to this mix, and the task of feeding 118 million Filipinos becomes even more daunting," Laurel told the CA's Committee on Agriculture chaired by Bataan Rep. Albert Garcia.

"But I view these problems as a challenge. And I shall apply my knowledge and experience in building a diversified global company to this achievable goal. I shall apply these lessons to serve our larger family of the Filipino people," the agri chief added.

Laurel was just 28 when he took over the reins of Frabelle, a deep-sea fishing company established by his parents.

He joined the family business at age 19, spending months at sea as he joined Frabelle's fishing expeditions. Conferences and seminars overseas that his father sent him to continue his education gave Laurel valuable lessons that he used to grow Frabelle into a diversified conglomerate with interests in food manufacturing, deep-sea fishing, property development, shipyard operation, aquaculture, cold storage chain, and renewable power.

"Natutunan ko na dapat ring humingi ng tulong. Humility and faith in fellow journeymen take discipline. Because we cannot do it alone, I abide by the oft-repeated whole-of-country and whole-of-society approach. The boat will get nowhere if we paddle in different directions," he said.

Laurel said the DA under his watch will rely on science and market data to ensure timely interventions to modernize agriculture to realize food security and sufficiency, as well as sustainability.

"As former chairman of the World Tuna Purse Seine Organization, I have seen firsthand the dire consequences of setting aside the issue of sustainability. Yet, sustainability encompasses every aspect of human existence, and thus needs the collective understanding, commitment, and action of every sector of society now and every day," he said.

No importation of sugar so far

Laurel also told the CA members the DA is not considering importing sugar for now, amid reports that the Philippines is set to import about 500,000 MT in 2024.

"Based on estimates namin with SRA (Sugar Regulatory Administration), which we've been meeting for the last two weeks, we feel that next year we don't need to import too much sugar dahil this year, medyo naparami nang kaunti 'yung importation ng sugar at marami pang stocks ngayon sa market," Laurel said.

"The assessment of the DA, SRA, and the industry players show that we might need around 200,000 metric tons assuming that there are no adverse weather conditions," he added.

Laurel said he treats all facets of agriculture as equally important not just the production of rice—the national food staple. He said there is vast potential in fisheries, livestock, poultry, and high-value crops.

The agriculture chief said making investments and a career in agriculture profitable is essential to attract the next generation of farmers and fishermen, avoiding a food crisis in the coming decades.

"My vision for agriculture is to make it sustainable, profitable, and appealing to the younger generation," he added.