Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. has sought out the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) and secure its commitment to observe the law prioritizing the transport of agricultural products across the various ports and make possible for farmers to cut farm waste, boost farmer income and by this measure ensure food security.
Laurel was emphatic for the PPA to honor the law and help stop persistent highland vegetable farmer and trader complaints on the slow transport of agricultural products over land and the sea.
Laurel met with PPA general manager Jay Santiago to forge a partnership in support of initiatives increasing food production and modernizing agriculture.
Laurel told farmers the PPA acknowledged legislation requiring shipping companies to reserve at least 25 percent of cargo space for agricultural food products, adding that agricultural freight rates should also be discounted to keep food prices affordable.
“We will monitor this to ensure they are strictly implemented. We will again meet with PPA GM Jay (Santiago) on how to effectively implement these,” he said.
Laurel also met with farmers and local government leaders in Pampanga, to sustain the push for agricultural modernization and increased food production in the face of El Niño.
He said the government will distribute more solar-powered irrigation systems to provide steady supply of water to an additional 180,000 hectares of rice land that should translate to 1.2 million metric tons of palay, reducing further the need to import rice.
For this year, the DA has budgeted P31 billion in post-harvest facilities, extension services, research and development and irrigation services under the rice development program.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, Pampanga produced 463,526.28 metric tons (MT) of palay in 2023 equivalent to 2.3 percent of the 20,059,561.96 MT of palay produced by farmers last year.
