DA celebrates 112th anniversary
The Department of Agriculture celebrated its 112th anniversary on Wednesday on the back of the government’s major achievements in the agriculture and fisheries sector resulting from President Arroyo’s record farm spending and her flagship food security and sufficiency program dubbed FIELDS.
On the occasion of the Department’s anniversary, two initiatives—the DA-AFMIS and Nokia mobile data gathering system and the Online Import Application, Processing and Approval of Permit project—were launched in the presence of Secretary Bernie Fondevilla and other agriculture officials and guests.
In her message on the occasion of the DA’s anniversary, President Arroyo said that the shift in spending in agriculture—from providing dole-outs to farmers to investing more in infrastructure—has helped sustain the growth of the Philippine farm and fisheries sector in the long term.
“This is the goal of the FIELDS program,” the President said. “Along with the DA, and in cooperation with the local government units and the private sector, we carried out our twin goals of food sufficiency and being free from food imports.”
FIELDS stands for the six areas of agriculture where President Arroyo has focused the unprecedented level of public spending on her watch—Fertilizer; Irrigation and other rural infrastructure; Extension and education services for farmers; Loans; Dryers and other postharvest facilities; and Seeds and other genetic materials.
President Arroyo said her administration doubled spending on agriculture, which reached P21 billion on her watch, as compared to the P11 billion during the Ramos administration and P17 billion during the term of her predecessor, Joseph Estrada.
The increase in funding paved the way for the expansion of farm areas to 1.6 million hectares; P465 billion worth of loans to farmers; and the conduct of 23,000 training workshops for farmers and agricultural workers, she noted.
More than one million hectares were opened for agribusiness development from 2005 to 2009, which led to the creation of more than 2.5 million jobs, the President said.
Her administration was also able to construct more than 18,000 kilometers of farm-to-market roads, along with cold chain systems nationwide, more than 80 bagsakan or drop-off centers and more than 500 barangay bagsakans, which provide farmers with a steady market for their produce and consumers with affordably priced basic goods.
For his part, Fondevilla said that on the Department’s 112th anniversary, he is confident that it will be able to hurdle new challenges brought about by climate change and the heightened competition in international trade market as a result of globalization.
“Despite the many changes and challenges that the Department has faced through the years, it has remained a stable pillar of the government and truly cares for the welfare of our farmers, fisherfolk and other rural workers,” Fondevilla said.
“The Department remains up to now, fully determined to free our people from hunger, poverty and hopelessness,” he said.
The anniversary celebration included a photo exhibit showcasing the major events at the Department through its 112 years of existence, a thanksgiving mass, and the awarding of loyalty plaques to DA employees who have rendered more than 20 years of service and citation plaques to top sales performers of the DA’s Agribusiness Export Showroom.
Fondevilla also presented during the affair the certificate that the DA received from the Office International dez Epizootis (OIE) or World Animal Health Organization declaring most parts of Luzon as free of the Foot and Mouth Disease, which is a major step towards declaring the entire
The other activities included a tiangge at the DA parking lot and the distribution and feeding of dairy milk (from DA’s National Diary Authority), and ‘malunggay lugaw’ and ‘malunggay’ and ‘saluyot’ ice cream (from DA’s Bureau of Plant Industry) to elementary schoolchildren.
The first-ever Department of Agriculture and Manufacturing was created on June 23, 1898 after President Emilio Aguinaldo declared the independence of the Republic. The Department’s first head was Jose Alejandrino.
Through its 112 years, 34 Filipinos and 5 Americans have served as agriculture chiefs.
They included
