<\/p>\n
NEWLY-APPOINTED Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said his priority is to increase food production and modernize agriculture.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Laurel issued the statement in a press conference at the agency’s office in Quezon City on Monday, November 6, 2023<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He said the marching order of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is to modernize agriculture so the country could be food secure, less dependent on imports and lift millions of farmers and fisherfolk out of poverty.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Laurel said he plans to go around the country in the coming weeks to get a better grasp of the actual situation on ground.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Agriculture accounts for about 10 percent of the Philippine economy but employs one in every four Filipinos. Data show that more than 10 million farmers and fisherfolk are poor and many of them are approaching their senior years, posing a potential food crisis in the next decade.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cBy modernizing the agriculture sector, we could make it a more profitable venture and attract a younger generation that would ensure the country\u2019s food security in the decades to come,\u201d Laurel said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Asked whether rice production is the main priority of his department, Laurel said that while rice is the country\u2019s staple food there are other equally important sectors like livestock, poultry, fisheries and high value crops that require government attention and support.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Aside from boosting food production and modernization, the new DA chief said the President told him to pay special attention to alleged price manipulation and smuggling to ensure stable supply and prices and to protect Filipino consumers.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He said the DA will coordinate and work closely with relevant law enforcement agencies to apprehend and prosecute those engaged in illegal trade.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In his first meeting with the DA family, he sought everyone\u2019s cooperation to achieve the goal of a stronger agriculture sector.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m ready to work but I can\u2019t do this alone. I need your full cooperation and team work for us to achieve our targets,\u201d Laurel said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NEWLY-APPOINTED Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said his priority is to increase food production and modernize agriculture. Laurel issued the statement in a press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2039,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2038"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2038"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2038\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2038"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2038"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}