Agriculture modernization still priority for 2021

MANILA, Philippines — As the new year ushers in, the government is still banking on the mechanization and industrialization of the agriculture sector to boost the growth of the farm sector and contribute further to economic recovery.

The Department of Agriculture said it would implement key strategies to grow and fuel the transformation of the agriculture and fishery sectors into a modernized and industrialized economic powerhouse.

At the core of this strategy is farm clustering and consolidation that aims to converge and integrate government interventions such as provision of loans, farm mechanization, free seeds and fertilizers, and market support.

“We must empower our farmers and fishers through collective action so they will have the opportunity to partner with the different actors in the industry. Leaving them alone will not accelerate the development of the sector,” Agriculture Secretary William Dar said.

The DA will also accelerate the completion of the national farmers’ and fishers’ registry to improve the delivery of support services and other forms of interventions to eligible stakeholders.

The establishment of agri-industrial business corridors (ABCs) will be pursued this year to serve as processing and marketing centers of agriculture and fishery products in identified production areas.

The ABCs will house agribusiness and multipurpose facilities that will be key to managing and integrating the food supply chain, as well as introducing innovative agricultural technology to farmers.

Further, the DA will intensify infrastructure investments in major agri-fishery production areas, which include construction of farm-to-market roads, trading posts, fish ports and processing plants.

“Agro-industrialization entails leveraging public investments with local and foreign private investors through incentives and regulations to develop the sector’s value chain,” Dar said.

The DA will likewise work on upscaling the implementation of Agriculture 4.0, which seeks the use of smart farming technologies.

“One offshoot of the pandemic is the acceleration of the digitalization of the country’s agriculture and fishery sector,” Dar said.

For one, DA’s flagship online Kadiwa program highlighted the cost-reducing power of digital technology that directly links farmers with consumers, as well as with small and medium enterprises involved in food processing.

The DA plans to upscale e-Kadiwa, not only by linking farmers to buyers and consumers, but also by looking into logistics like renting out Kadiwa trucks and refrigerated vans to transport perishable agricultural items from the farms to urban markets.