THE Department of Agriculture (DA) will seek out more opportunities to collaborate with the private sector in the area of formulating policy and programs.
In a statement on Thursday, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel, Jr. said the end goal is to effectively modernize agriculture.
“We’ve been stressing… the need to modernize the agriculture sector, not only to feed 118 million Filipinos but to ensure food security,” he said, speaking to the Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries (PCAF).
Mr. Laurel added that such collaboration creates options for improving the agri-fisheries sector.
He said that private sector partners can assist the government in policy and project monitoring to “maximize the benefits derived from these interventions.”
“Over the years, the private sector has been an invaluable partner of the Department of Agriculture in the development process of the industry,“ he added.
The DA has said it will seek out more such partnerships to boost the productivity of farms and fisheries.
In a Special Order issued in October, the DA directed staff to organize events that will result in partnerships with the private sector or bring them in as technical partners.
PCAF is a policy arm of the DA assigned to take charge of partnership development. — Adrian H. Halili