The Department of Agriculture (DA), dovetailing the vision under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of Masaganang Bagong Pilipinas, has given top priority to modernization and mechanization, revamping and enhancing the country’s agricultural performance.

In January, the DA unveiled its three-year plan “Para sa Masaganang Bagong Pilipinas” for bolstering the country’s agriculture and fisheries sectors and improving farmers’ and fisherfolks’ livelihoods.

This initiative aims to modernize the country’s agricultural production to ensure all key industrial players, from farmers to retailers, benefit.

The plan includes expanding and improving agri-fishery areas to boost production, mechanizing and modernizing agri-fishery production systems, and developing and enhancing post-harvest systems and infrastructure.

Additionally, it focuses on creating efficient logistics systems for both inputs and production outputs, improving and expanding access to local and international markets, balancing the developmental and regulatory roles of the agriculture department, and making decisions driven by science and information through digitalization.

A strong partnership with farmers, fisherfolk, the private sector, and other stakeholders will be forged, and financial mechanisms that encourage investments and minimize risks will be made available and accessible.

As President Marcos’ third State of the Nation Address comes near, here are some major DA initiatives in the agricultural sector, focusing on programs aimed at increasing productivity, ensuring food security, and supporting farmers through subsidies and modern farming techniques.

NFA modernization roadmap

In April, the National Food Authority (NFA) approved a P10-billion modernization plan that aims to increase post-harvest facilities nationwide.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., who also chairs the NFA Council, said this would help address the country’s lack of postharvest facilities, which he said is among the local rice industry’s biggest challenges.

At present, the drying capacity for rice is 5 percent, a huge fall from the 80 percent drying capacity in the mid-80s, he said, further linking this to the increasing rice production and a need for more investments in new facilities.

The NFA officer in charge, administrator Larry Lacson, said these prospective post-harvest facilities are warehouses, dryers, milling facilities, and silos.

“Actually, right now, we should have a [drying] capacity of 495,000 metric tons (MT). Our current capacity for drying is only 31,000 MT. Then the milling capacity we have is at 130,000 MT. Just imagine the disparity; that is what we are addressing,” Lacson said.

Once established, the additional dryers will contribute an additional 150,000 MT for drying capacity and an additional 120,000 MT for milling capacity.

Solar irrigations

Moreover, for more cost-effective, efficient, and withstanding farming techniques, the DA is eyeing the development of Philippine solar irrigation projects.

In June, the DA disclosed its proposal to borrow €350 million, or over P22 trillion, from the Asian Development Bank for the said project. DA spokesperson Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa earlier said small-scale irrigation projects are beneficial to them as they have the means to develop their farms.

“It is more manageable for them to develop and to go into diversification, unlike the big irrigation systems, which are very dependent on the release of water coming from these huge dams,” he said.

“If the farmer has freedom and flexibility to manage irrigation water, then, aside from rice and corn, they can diversify into vegetables, high-value commercial crops, and livestock. Again, water is basic for agriculture,” he added.

This envisioned project is also seen to pull down greenhouse gas emissions, improve product quality, and provide access to renewable energy.

Moreover, the DA spox revealed requesting from the Department of Budget and Management an additional P22 billion to be used for solar-powered cold storage.

The DA in April polished a proposal to double its 2025 budget from the current P208.58 billion to P513.81 billion. It said the bulk of the budget increase will go to DA-attached corporations, including the NFA, the Philippine Coconut Authority, the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority, and the National Dairy Authority. The proposed combined budget for the eight DA-attached corporations is P287.98 billion.

The rice subsector will have the biggest share of the proposal, with an allocation of P294.21 billion, or 57 percent of the total outlay.

Achievements

In 2023, the country recorded its largest palay harvest, reaching a total of 20.06 million MT — 1.5 percent higher than the 2022 volume of 19.76 million MT.

With this, lower rice import volume was registered last year at 3.5 million MT from 3.8 million MT in 2022.

Fast forward to the present; the NFA revealed in June that it achieved 100.06 percent of its palay volume target from January to June.

The NFA maintains a 300,000-MT level of national rice buffer stock to be utilized in emergencies and to sustain disaster relief programs during calamities.

NFA acting chief Lacson said that out of the total target of 3,363,100 bags in the said period, equivalent to 168,155 MT of palay, the food agency has acquired a total of 3.5 million bags, or around 175,000 MT.

This triumph comes after they implemented their new Price Range Scheme, or PRICERS, where they buy wet palay from local farmers at P17 to P23 per kilogram and dry palay at P23 to P30 per kilogram.

NFA aims to procure a total of 495,000 MT of palay this year, of which 60 percent will be acquired in the wet season harvest.