Monday, April 11, 2005
Idle lands to yield 2M jobs in 5 years: DA
THE Department of Agriculture (DA) aims to create two million jobs in five years, by making at least 14,000 hectares of idle and “marginal” agricultural lands more productive.
As soon as these lands are developed for agribusiness and can provide jobs to farmers, the DA will then try to bring down market prices by reducing the cost of production.
One way of doing this is to use organic fertilizers instead of the usual chemical fertilizers, especially for vegetable products.
The other priority goods of the project are rice, corn, sugar, poultry, pork and fish.
The DA plans to start implementing the project this year in three regions in Luzon deemed as “demand areas.” It is slated to end in 2010.
Marina Hermoso, chief of the DA Planning Division, said they started planning early last year yet. They have sought the participation of partner government agencies, as well as non-government organizations and the private sector, which will be tapped for funds.
According to a recent DA study, the areas to be used in the project are idle and marginal agricultural lands, including existing coconut areas. Marginal lands are those that yield crops that when sold at existing price levels will barely cover the cost of production.
Along with some marine areas, these lands will be converted into areas for agribusiness development.
Also, these lands will be developed for intercropping low-value and high-value crops. Some of these areas will also be used for livestock production.
Hermoso said the DA has allotted a specific number of hectares for certain crops: 9,000 hectares for coconut trees, 2,000 hectares for corn, 1,000 hectares for cassava, 1,495 hectares for banana and 702 hectares for mangoes.
Aside from making the land yield more efficient, the DA will then try to make the goods cheaper.
To achieve this, the DA has come up with schemes to reduce the cost of goods in the market, including productivity enhancement, more efficient logistics and improved retailing linkages, said Geraldine Franza, chief of the Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Division.
The project will first focus on Regions 3 and 4 and the National Capital Region, which account for 55 percent of the total country’s gross domestic product, Franza said. LLV
(April 11, 2005 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board.Click here. |
