President Marcos Jr. yesterday approved the Masagana rice agricultural road map which aims to ensure rice sufficiency and prioritize the welfare of Filipino farmers.
The road map includes consolidation and organization of more cooperatives for more access to capital requirements such as funding resources and new technology; mechanization and adoption of new farming technologies, and digitalization; building of new capacities to improve the value chain and prop up the productivity of the farmers, among others.
“We are doing this not just to feed the whole Philippines but also to improve the lives of the farmers — make their lives more decent,” the President said during the Rice Industry Convergence Meeting at the National Irrigation Administration Convention Hall in Quezon City.
“They have the possibility to expand, to go into other economic activities, sa (in) agriculture or not. But to give them more opportunities. That’s the whole point. As much as possible, we will support the farmers,” Marcos added.
He emphasized the importance of continuously innovating and mechanizing agriculture and farming to draw more youth into agriculture.
He said the average age of Filipino farmers now is 56 to 57 years, and there is a need now to bring that down.
“To do that, again, we engage them with new technologies because they will be the ones who will operate those systems, those new technological systems. And that will make it interesting for young people to come into the sector,” the President said.
Marcos, who also serves as Agriculture secretary, said officials have discussed the digitalization of the rice sector and the consolidation of farms so that the country can take full advantage of the “economies of scale of the new technologies.”
The Department of Agriculture formulated the Masagana Rice Industry Development Program with the aim of supporting rice farmers, increasing rice production, and strengthening the rice value chain.
It also aims to pool resources, share knowledge, and coordinate efforts to achieve sustainable rice production and higher income for rice farmers.
It also involves climate change adaptation; farm clustering and consolidation or convergence of intervention; value chain approach; and digital transformation.
The President said in coming up with such a program, his administration hopes to achieve at least up to 97.5 percent rice sufficiency.
DA data showed a decline in the total palay harvest area and average palay yield in 2022 or 19.76 million metric tons (MMT) of palay in 2022.
The top five highest rice-producing regions in 2022 were Central Luzon, 3.62 MMT; Cagayan Valley, 2.93 MMT; Western Visayas, 2.32 MMT; Ilocos Region, 1.96 MMT; and, Bicol Region, 1.33 MMT.
