PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. assured Filipino farmers on Saturday of the government’s support to ensure the development of the Philippine agriculture amid the challenges brought about by both man-made and natural disasters, including the El Niño phenomenon.
In his speech during the ceremonial palay harvesting and distribution of various assistance in Barangay Mandili, Candaba, Pampanga, President Marcos said that the government is always on the back of the farmers to support all of their endeavors.
“Kaya’t asahan ninyo na sasamahan kayo ng ating pamahalaan sa inyong mga pagsisikap nang makamit ninyo ang lahat ng inyong mithiin at mga pangarap,” President Marcos told farmers during the event.
“Ang ating pagtutulungan na mapaunlad ang ating sektor ng agrikultura ay isa lamang sa mga pangunahing hakbang tungo sa pagbuo ng isang Bagong Pilipinas – kung saan walang nagugutom at ang lahat ng masigabong kumikilos para sa mas masaganang kinabukasan,” he added.
President Marcos also led the distribution of various assistance such as hauling trucks, seeds, financial assistance, among others to over 12,000 farmers and ten farmers’ cooperatives and association in Barangay Mandili, Candaba, Pampanga.
The chief executive lauded the Filipino farmers for their hard work and perseverance after the Philippines registered a record-high production volume of 20.06 million metric tons (MT) of palay in 2023, which is 1.5 percent higher than the 19.76 million MT rice production in 2022.
“Ito ay nagpapakita ng 1.5 %, isa’t kalahating porsyento ng pagtaas mula sa nakaraang taon o dagdag na mahigit na 300,000 tonelada ng palay ang naidagdag sa nakaraang taon. Ang pamamahagi ng mas magandang uri ng binhi at pagbibigay ng malawakang suporta sa pataba ay siyang nagbunga ng positibong resulta na ito,” the President quipped.
“[Sumasalamin] po ito sa walang sawang dedikasyon ng ating mga magsasaka at sa matagumpay na pagpapaganap ng mga programa ng Kagawaran ng Pagsasaka,” he added.
President Marcos underscored that some parts of the Philippines are now experiencing the effects of the El Niño phenomenon, which is expected to last until June this year amid all the developments in the agriculture sector.
But he assured that the administration has already laid out several programs to mitigate the effects of the El Niño phenomenon and to support the affected farmers to ensure that their harvest will not be affected.
“Gayunpaman, hindi tayo natatakot; sa halip, buong loob at lakas at sama-sama nating haharapin ang El Niño. Patuloy nating palakasin at pag-ibayuhin ang mga tulong para sa mga apektadong lugar at mamamayan,” President Marcos said.
“Ilan sa mga hakbang na ginagawa natin ngayon ay ang paglikha ng mga binhing umaayon sa paba-bagong klima, gayun din ang pagsasagawa ng climate risk assessments para sa mga nasalantang pamayanan,” he added.
President Marcos said that the administration will also continue to push for infrastructure development, information dissemination, and strengthen the water irrigation system through the Philippine Solar-irrigation Project and Small-scale Irrigation Projects.
