MANILA – The Department of Agriculture (DA) stressed the need for empowering farmers in order to achieve food sustainability as the Philippines prepares for the United Nations Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) in September.
According to DA Secretary William Dar, despite the present generation of farmers produces more per hectare than previous generations, the agriculture industry has greater challenges.
“They confront unprecedented challenges like the high cost of inputs, the lack of capital and rural infrastructure, climate change, and extreme poverty,” Dar said in his speech during the National Food Systems Dialogue at the Bureau of Soils and Water Management Convention Hall in Quezon City on Tuesday.
As part of the Decade of Action to accomplish the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, UN Secretary General António Guterres called for the Food Systems Summit in New York City.
Dar stated that the UNFSS will address action tracks such as access to safe and nutritious food for all, shifting to sustainable consumption patterns, increasing nature-positive production, advancing equitable livelihoods, and strengthening resilience to vulnerabilities, shocks, and stresses.
He stated that the DA will focus on long-term market-oriented agricultural growth, increased farm productivity and revenue, and food security for all.
“We are not entirely starting from scratch. We are guided by our One DA Reform Agenda and Food Security Development Framework anchored on modernization, industrialization, value chain-based consolidation, and professionalization being undertaken via a whole-of-society consultation process,” he said.
The discussion, which will continue on Wednesday, will guide national policy and lay the foundation for future programs and projects.
“Our decisions will likewise inform our participation in the UNFSS in September. I am confident we will do well. The task of progress may not be easy, and success is not always inevitable. But, when people of good will meet with a single intent, the road to growth is open,” Dar said.
