Wednesday, May 14, 2008 DA: Central Luzon to feed metro By Ian Ocampo Flora
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- The Department of Agriculture (DA) revealed on Tuesday that a program of action to feed Metro Manila is already in place.
According to DA Regional Director Redentor Gatus, the action plan dubbed "Battle Plan to Feed Mega Manila" is a DA program that taps the various agricultural potential of Central Luzon.
The program would ensure the proper distribution of agricultural produce and ensure the availability of products to mitigate sudden surges in prices and demands.
Under the program, the provinces of Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac and Pampanga would be tasked to supply rice to Metro Manila and other provinces.
Bulacan, Pampanga and Nueva Ecija would also be responsible for poultry products like pork and eggs.
Gatus stressed that the supply for the provinces would be distributed within the provincial market while the surplus produce, estimated at 38 percent in rice alone, would then be divided between Manila and other provinces.
"We have enough supply of rice, in fact we have the surplus to meet the needs of the battle plan," he said.
For the distribution of rice produce, 80 percent or about 518,300 metric tons (MTs) will go to Manila while 20 percent or 129,575 MTs is allotted to the provinces.
"Other regions have their battle plan. With these in place, supply would be available in the regions, especially in Manila. It's an approach that guarantees stable prices or at least a help to mitigate current prices and demands," Gatus said.
The DA is expecting a total of 647,876 MTs of rice surplus at the start of this year. The battle plan also commits Pampanga to supply Metro Manila with 14,000 MTs (20 percent) of chicken and 2,120 MTs (25 percent) of vegetables.
The province is also tasked to supply 7,877 MTs (45 percent) of eggs, the highest allocation among all provinces in the said livestock produce.
The DA said the region's rice requirement is at 647,876 MTs which is 62 percent of the total production, adding that the plan would not jeopardize local supply to meet provincial demands in terms of rice supply.
