Panayam kay DA Asec. Arnel de Mesa kaugnay ng pagbawas ng taripa sa imported na bigas
Panayam kay DA Asec. Arnel de Mesa kaugnay ng pagbawas ng taripa sa imported na bigas
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00:00 We will ask for an update from the Department of Agriculture.
00:03 Sir, the tarifa was reduced in imported rice.
00:06 What does this mean and what do we expect from the price of rice in the market because of this?
00:12 That's right, Ms. Queng.
00:13 The NEDA Board has just recently approved the reduction of tarifa in rice from 35% to 15%.
00:23 According to the first assessment by the Philippine Statistics Authority, the price of imported rice can be expected to drop from 6 to 7 pesos.
00:35 This will help our local rice to lower its price.
00:41 Sir, there are some people who are worried about the effect of this tariff cut on our local farmers.
00:47 What is the D.A.'s plan to ensure that our farmers will not be affected?
00:52 As you know, our local production is still a priority and a mandate of the government.
01:00 The government has set a large fund, especially in our rice program.
01:06 More than 50% of the budget of the government is set here.
01:10 Secretary Chu Laurel Jr. has also ordered the additional fund for the fertilizer assistance of our farmers.
01:19 The additional fund is also for the National Food Authority.
01:23 We should remember that the NFA Council approved the increase in the price of buying NFA dry and clean products from P23 to P30.
01:35 This is a big help to our farmers.
01:39 Because of this, the NFA Council reached its target of 3 million bags of rice harvested in the dry season.
01:49 When it comes to rice output, does the D.A. believe that the target will be met this year despite the effects of the El Niño?
01:58 What is the D.A. doing to achieve this target?
02:01 This year, our target is 20.4 million metric tons.
02:06 This is higher than 400,000 metric tons since last year when we harvested a record of 20.06 million metric tons.
02:16 The effect of the El Niño, based on our measurement, only reached more than 100,000 metric tons.
02:23 This is lower because we were able to prepare the El Niño well for our country.
02:31 And now, there are many programs, especially in water management intervention, that we are preparing for the El Niño.
02:38 And the fact that we are still providing the technology for irrigation, for irrigation, for machinery,
02:47 all of these are helping us to reach our additional target for this year.
02:53 Asek, we have a question from our media partner, Ivan Mayrina of GMA News.
02:59 The final El Niño advisory has already come out.
03:02 Have we seen the extent of damage to agriculture or are there far-reaching and lingering effects?
03:08 How long will rehabilitation of affected lands take?
03:12 Asek, our final El Niño advisory has reached 9.6 billion metric tons of damage and most of it is in the rice fields.
03:23 Although, I mentioned earlier that this is lower than what we expected the El Niño would have.
03:29 And now, since the onset of the rainy season has already started,
03:33 we can see that the land that used to have no water has already been irrigated and we are sure that others can also plant their land.
03:46 Because this is the right time for land preparation until June or July for our harvest to be done from August, September to October of this year for wet season planting.
04:00 Next question, Ivan Mayrina, what should we expect in terms of La Niña's impact on agriculture?
04:07 What interventions or mitigating measures are we taking?
04:11 Like our preparation for the El Niño, we want to prepare for the worst conditions.
04:20 That's why we are preparing for the harvest.
04:22 Like the El Niño, La Niña also has a problem with water.
04:26 Even though, it is the opposite, it has more water.
04:30 So, we still need to prepare our water management interventions.
04:34 The main and lateral canals of our irrigation are dual-purpose.
04:39 That is a water flow that goes to the fields to irrigate our land.
04:45 And when the water is excess, that is also a drainage system.
04:50 So, we need to make sure that these systems are well-organized so that when La Niña arrives, we can make sure that excess water will be released.
05:00 The same goes for the continuous construction of water impounding projects so that the excessive rain can be used in the time it is needed.
05:09 But if the rain is too heavy, our systems will have problems.
05:14 That's why we are prepared for these kinds of situations.
05:17 The DA and the Food and Drug Administration agreed on the evaluation for the animal vaccines.
05:25 What are the details here?
05:26 As of now, the Bureau of Animal Industry has signed an agreement with our Secretary Chu Laurel Jr. and the Food and Drug Administration.
05:38 This was done on June 4. This is to help the Bureau of Animal Industry, the FDA, in the evaluation of animal vaccines and biologics.
05:52 So that our government can be sure that the safety and efficacy of these vaccines and biologics are safe and that the issue of the Certificate of Product Registration and LTO of these vaccines by the FDA will be properly issued.
06:13 We have prepared the highly pathogenic avian influenza vaccine and the African swine fever vaccine.
06:21 This is a big help because the livestock industry is one of the main contributors to our sector.
06:29 There is also a Memorandum of Understanding between the DA and the MOU to support technical assistance to OFW entrepreneurs.
06:38 What is the content of the MOU?
06:40 This was signed by Secretary Chu Laurel Jr. and Secretary Hans Leo Kakdak on June 5.
06:49 This is to ensure that our OFWs are prepared to invest in agriculture and to support the production of the industry by providing loans, agri-loans,
07:03 as well as agribusiness forums and by providing additional market linkages and training.
07:13 Through this, our OFWs will be more prepared to invest and create business and job opportunities in our sector in our country.
07:24 So that when they leave, they will have something to leave for their families.
07:30 Yes, if they want, they will not return and they will continue their agribusiness here in our country.
07:36 Okay, thank you very much, Ase Carnel, for the updates that you shared from the Department of Agriculture.