The Department of Agriculture (DA) said it would push for the digitalization of the country’s agriculture sector under the “new normal” to achieve its goals of reducing poverty and attaining food security.

Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar told the recent 35th United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific (APRC35) virtual meeting that it is important to teach farm families to capitalize digital agriculture to increase their productivity and incomes.

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.

The Urban Agriculture Program (UAP) of the Department of Agriculture (DA) continues to expand as more and more institutions forge partnerships to stabilize the supply of food, alleviate poverty, foster social integration, protect the environment through eco-friendly methods and innovate gardening methods.

Agriculture Secretary William Dar urges the youth and budding agriculture entrepreneurs (agripreneurs) to actively take part in agriculture and fisheries by availing of several financial and technical assistance offered by the Duterte administration through the Department of Agriculture (DA).

One of which is the “Kapital Access for Young Agripreneurs” or KAYA loan program.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) has partnered with the private sector to assist high-value crop producers in Mindanao with the transportation and marketing of their produce in Luzon and Visayas regions.

The effort aims to facilitate the movement of fruits and help local farmers bring their produce to major markets, provide a stable source of income, and reduce losses in the middle of the ongoing 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).