December 24 ------ The Department of Agriculture presented its year-end accomplishment report and an outlook for 2023.
High-ranking officials admitted there were a lot of challenges regarding commodities this year, but they said these were kept at bay. Among the issues discussed were President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s decision to extend the executive order lowering tariffs for imports on certain commodities. The extension targets to lower price of pork by around 40 pesos. "Kung nakikita natin ang meat products at liempo na nasa 380-400, ngayon naglalaro na sila 340, 320. Siguro we'll probably be expecting bababa din yan sa 300-320 ganoon," said Undersecretary Mercedita Sombilla of the Department of Agriculture.
They said the Department of Agriculture remains focused on increasing local production of these commodities, but certain circumstances such as destruction due to typhoons led them to import to meet demand and stabilize price of goods. "Total economy talaga ang maaapektuhan kaya sa DA, together with our operating units, we are trying to balance importation as well as production so we can stabilize and lower prices," Sombilla added. The agency will have a significantly higher budget for its programs next year, and they are hoping this will yield more produce for our consumers.
Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban said there will be no rice shortage by next year. "There will be a lot of rice in the country, we will not be importing rice until next year," he said. Budget for rice doubled from P15 billion to P30 billion and they said production will be stable by next year. Sombilla said one of the priority areas is adding value to commodities, and using technology to boost production. They also lauded higher level of rice imports that stabilized and even lowered price of rice this year. They also said they will be building infrastructure to lessen post-harvest losses and help farmers process their harvest.
Assistant Secretary James Layug also confirmed they are filing cases against smugglers of onions.
Source: news.abs-cbn.com
Comentarios