Friday, April 18, 2008 Mindanao program to boost gov't food security thrust
MINDANAO'S vast potentials, if properly tapped, could make significant contributions to the current government's food security thrusts.
In the recent National Food Summit, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had unveiled the package of intervention dubbed as "Fields" to guarantee the nation's food security in the face of a looming global food crunch.
Fields stands for the six areas of support to which Malacañang will funnel a total of P43.7 billion in government support-Fertilizer, Irrigation and Infrastructure, Education and training of farmers and fisherfolk, loans, dryers and other post-harvest and facilities, and Seeds of the high-yielding, hybrid varieties.
With this, the Mindanao Rural Development Program (MRDP), a poverty alleviation initiative of the Department of Agriculture (DA) is taking steps to complement and fast track the implementation of "Fields" in the island-region.
Now on its second phase, MRDP is servicing 27 provinces and 225 towns in Mindanao through its rural infrastructure, livelihood projects, environmental conservation and governance reform components.
MRDP program director Roger Chio said that of the six areas, the program, in partnership with its covered local government units, will be complementing the establishment of rural infrastructure particularly the irrigation and farm-to-market roads.
"It will also provide training and education to farmers and fisherfolk availing the financial assistance for their livelihood projects," Chio added.
Although MRDP is focused on improving productivity and profitability of Mindanao's agriculture and fisheries, he said that MRDP strategies are in sync with the President's national agenda of "Pagkain sa Bawat Mesa, Negosyo sa Sakahan-Laban sa Kahirapan."
"Considering Mindanao's distinct climatic and geographical advantage, developing its agriculture areas will not only help in securing the country's food supply but will also bring in more economic opportunities," he said.
Meanwhile, Cotabato Vice Governor Emmanuel Piñol underscored the need for hard investment in rural development to secure the country's food supply in the coming years.
"With the impending global food shortage, the more we should strengthen the implementation of rural infrastructure such as irrigation and farm-to-market roads as these are what the local governments need to boost agricultural productivity," Piñol said. (Press release)
