DA prepares farmers to cope with ASEAN competition
CALASIAO – Unless production costs are lowered, farmers may have difficulty coping and surviving the scheduled Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) integration, which begins next year.
The Department of Agriculture has identified farm, mechanization, irrigation and financing as three vital elements that farmers and Philippine agri-fishery need to improve on to prepare for it.
Noel De Luna, chief of the International Relations Division of the Department of Agriculture, said during the First Regional Agriculture and Fishery Network (RAFEN) symposium held in Pangasinan, the government has developed a road map for 2015 to make Philippine agri-fishery products with the intention to lower the cost of production in order to compete in the international market.
With farm mechanization, farmer’s losses would be lower and cost of production would be lessened. At present, Filipino farmers produce palay by about P11 per kilo which is very high compared to Vietnam’s P7 per kilo.
DA targets to lower the production cost at P5 per kilo for Philippine rice to become more competitive, said De Luna.
He added that the government must also introduce financing schemes for crop insurance to help address the impacts of climate change.
The Bureau of Quarantine will also be strengthened to guarantee that products going in and out of the country are of good quality.
“The ASEAN Integration is an opportunity for our farmers to sell their products,” De Luna said. (PIA)
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