Marcos leads celebration of DA’s 125th founding anniversary
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. led the celebration of the 125th founding anniversary of the Department of Agriculture (DA) on a rainy Tuesday afternoon.
Marcos, who is also agriculture secretary, stressed the importance of agriculture to the Philippine economy.
“Agriculture is and will always be an important contributor to our national economy. In the first quarter of 2023, the agriculture sector grew by 2.2 percent while contributing 9.1 percent to our total gross domestic product,” said Marcos.
“And every analysis, kahit hindi magsasaka ang gagawa ng analysis, kahit na ‘yung mga nasa bangko, kahit na ‘yung (mga) World Bank, (mga) ADB (Asian Development Bank), lagi nilang sinasabi hindi aahon ang ekonomiya ninyo kung hindi gaganda ang agrikultura ninyo dahil lahat ng ating ginagawa sa ekonomiya ay pinagbabasehan ay ang matibay at masigla na agricultural sector,” the President added.
Marcos announced that DA employees would be getting an increase in their bonus but did not mention the amount.
Agriculture Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban said the increase would come from the agency’s savings.
Marcos expressed that the DA will achieve the goals it has set in the following years.
“I am sure that the goals we have set for ourselves in the next few years that we have set for the Department of Agriculture in the next few years are goals that we can achieve because we have all the different elements that are required," Marcos said.
We have the expertise. We have the knowledge. We have the motivation to make things work,” he said
“Moving forward, the DA will continue to devise interventions to advance our agri-fishery practices, improve the competitiveness of our agri-fishery products and further boost the income of our farmers and our fisherfolks. In addition, we will expand access to our markets and related enterprises by enhancing our physical and our digital infrastructure, leveraging on private-sector investment,” he added.
He said the DA still has many issues to address.
“We have all heard the issues of food supply, of food prices, of supply chain problems and these are all of the things we have to overcome if we are to be able say that the Department of Agriculture has achieved its ultimate goal in that we are able to provide Filipinos all of the food supply and that we are also able to provide the nutrition that we need to give to our people so we can say that the Philippines is a healthy country,” he said.
Marcos also urged the department to continue to champion the well-being of people in the agriculture sector and promote productivity.
“So as one department, let us continue to champion the well-being of our farmers, fisherfolk, and rural communities. Let us promote agricultural productivity and resilience while also maintaining environmental stability and let us nurture inclusivity and pride in the noble work of our people,” Marcos said. Jaspearl Tan/DMS
