With four months remaining in the year, the Department of Agriculture (DA) continues to implement major interventions to ensure adequate, accessible, and affordable food to millions of Filipino households, particularly in Metro Manila and other major consumption centers, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Agriculture Secretary William Dar calls for the strong support on the enactment of a proposed law on the efficient use of the multi-billion peso coconut levy to uplift the livelihood of farmers and sustain the development of the country’s coconut industry.

The DA chief is referring to Senate Bill No.1396, or the “Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund Act,” recently re-filed by Senator Cynthia Villar, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food (CAF).

In an effort to reach as many farmers as possible, amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the Department of Agriculture (DA) will harness the power of radio into a unified distance learning program on modern rice agriculture, dubbed as “Makabagong Pagsasaka sa Himpapawid.”

On August 27, Agriculture Secretary William Dar received the “Manual of Operations of the School-on-the-Air on Smart Rice Agriculture (SOA-SRA),” that provides step-by-step process, concepts, strategies, and best practices in the conduct of educational radio programs.

Agriculture Secretary William Dar is encouraging local government units (LGUs) and concerned agencies to include chicken in subsidized food packs for distribution to their constituents and clienteles to ease supply glut and stabilize prices of said poultry product.

“The inclusion of fresh chicken in the relief goods would hike the demand and increase the farmgate prices of broilers,” Secretary Dar added.

To ensure an adequate supply of affordable food and provide farmers, fishers, and their families steady income, the Department of Agriculture (DA) will implement short-gestating farm and fishery projects that will help perk up the country’s economy.

“As we continue to confront the COVID-19 pandemic, we will vigorously implement emergency or short-gestating food production projects in partnership with farmers’ cooperatives and associations (FCAs), the private sector, and local government units (LGUs),” said Agriculture Secretary William Dar.

DILIMAN, Quezon City—Marking his first anniversary in office, Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary William Dar addressed the nation with his State of the Philippine Agriculture Report.

Dar emphasized the plans and strategies on the implementation of different programs for the sector. These include modernization which aims for the utilization and promotion of new and appropriate technologies in farming and fisheries.