Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. directed the Department of Agriculture (DA) to fast-track the implementation of key programs designed to support and reward Filipino farmers and fisherfolk for their hard work that ensures the country’s food security.
In a message marking Farmers and Fisherfolk Month this May, Tiu Laurel underscored the indispensable role of the country’s farmers and fishers in safeguarding national food supply and sustaining the economy.
“Your unwavering commitment ensures markets are stocked, dining tables are filled, and hope remains alive among Filipinos.”
The agriculture chief acknowledged their unwavering commitment that ensures markets are stocked, dining tables are filled, and hope remains alive among Filipinos.
“The role we play goes beyond our jobs—we are the allies, the support, and the defenders of our heroes in the fields and at sea,” said the agriculture head, through Undersecretary for Administration Allan Umali, who also chairs the committee leading the month-long celebration.
“Every day we spend in public service is a day truly felt by those who need it most.”
“Let us do our part—because every day we spend in public service is a day truly felt by those who need it most,” Tiu Laurel stressed as he enjoins the DA staff to step up their efforts to help farmers and fishers.
He outlined several priority initiatives under the Marcos administration aimed at improving rural livelihoods.
These include increasing the National Food Authority’s (NFA) buying price for palay to secure better incomes for rice farmers, modernizing the NFA by constructing additional warehouses and other post-harvest facilities to accommodate both rice and corn harvest, and tripling the budget for the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund to boost productivity.
The DA is also scaling up the AgriPuhunan and Pantawid program and the Agricultural Credit Policy Council lending initiative to ensure access to capital at the start of the planting season and financial support while waiting for harvest.
