Review, improvement of agriculture commodity roadmaps pushed

MANILA, Philippines — The government must now review its commodity roadmaps to adapt them to current conditions of the agriculture sector to ensure proper guidance for policy-making decisions, the Philippine Chamber for Agriculture and Food Inc. said.

PCAFI president Danilo Fausto called on the Department of Agriculture (DA) to “review” and “amend” its roadmaps to be in tune with the current production conditions and needs of the sectors concerned.

Fausto noted that at present, almost all major commodities of the country already have roadmaps. He said that the existence of the commodity industry roadmaps, albeit imperfect, was better compared to previous decades wherein there were no roadmaps at all.

Fausto urged the 48 member-groups of PCAFI to help the DA in updating the roadmaps as well as monitoring the goals that were stipulated in the various industry blueprints.

“We need your help to ensure that the desired goals and objectives of the roadmaps in developing our subsectors and helping our farmers and stakeholders are achieved,” he said.

At present, the DA has 20 commodity roadmaps covering yellow corn, abaca, banana, cacao, coconut, coffee, mango, onion, vegetable, carabao, dairy, hog, broiler, layer, small ruminants, milkfish, seaweed, shellfish, shrimp and tilapia.

The DA is also crafting two new roadmaps involving white corn and salt. Industry players recently turned over to the DA the program documents related to the crafting of the country’s white corn industry roadmap that aims to promote white corn consumption and increase supply in the market simultaneously.

Meanwhile, the crafting of the salt industry development roadmap is ongoing in accordance with the Philippine Salt Industry Development Act that was enacted into law this year. The roadmap would serve as an overarching guide in the implementation of various programs that would help revitalize the country’s ailing salt industry.

Furthermore, the DA is also finalizing the long overdue Philippine Rice Industry Roadmap that was mandated under Republic Act 11203 or the rice tariffication law. The finalization of the rice industry roadmap aligns with the possible extension of the rice competitiveness enhancement fund that supports the local rice industry to improve and modernize until 2031.