MANILA -- President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday affirmed that the Department of Agriculture (DA) will find ways to increase agricultural productivity, noting that this would also translate to lowering the price of agricultural produce in the markets.

In a media interview after attending the Department’s 125th founding anniversary in Quezon City, the President said that while the DA is already doing its best to boost production, it must also find other ways to enhance productivity as this would also result in the affordability of the agricultural crops and livestock. 

“Well, those two go hand-in-hand. The best way to improve, first of all, availability and to keep the prices down is to have a good level of production, na hindi tayo nabibiktima ng tinatawag na imported na inflation, which is what’s happening now kasi napipilitan tayong mag-import,” the chief executive said. 

“We are doing everything that we can to increase production in all aspects. I’m not talking only about rice and corn kung ‘di pati na ang livestock, pati na ang fisheries,” President Marcos, who also serves as Agriculture Secretary, added. 

The President also said that he met with the DA officials to discuss which programs to focus on in the coming years, especially those dealing with boosting production.

“Kaya kami nag-meeting ngayon after the program ay nagfa-finalize kami ng (ilalagay sa) NEP (National Expenditure Program) for this year. And I wanted to talk to the usecs (undersecretaries) and the other bureau chiefs kung ano ‘yung kailangan natin na ipaglaban doon sa budget. So that’s what we were doing upstairs and most of it has to do with increased production,” President Marcos said.

“Sasabihin ko na sa inyo, the Soil Health Program, the Aquaculture Development Program, the Biotech Research for Fisheries. But that is only what we talked about upstairs,” added the President.

To further improve the agricultural commodities and products, the President said that his administration is going into partnerships with the private sector, tapping their expertise to help in creating an efficient value chain.  

“And that’s why we are going to partnerships, PPP (public-private) partnerships, with some big groups, some small groups, some locals, some international para mabigyan tayo ng tulong para nga doon sa value chain na mabuo natin,” he added. (PND)