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Following is the excerpt of the Secretary’s message:

Last two years

As President Noynoy Aquino has said, the current administration has entered the period that may be compared to the “last two minutes” of a basketball game. It is a time to give it our all. To score the necessary winning points. To avoid making serious mistakes, especially the mistake of complacency.

1. So far, we have won major points on food staples sufficiency, especially in rice. We have drastically reduced imports in 2011, attained record palay production in 2012 and achieved 97% sufficiency during 2013 even when our country suffered most serious calamities.

We have also scored very good points for the corn, fisheries and livestock sectors.

The next scores to be made are in coconut, coffee, cacao, rubber, vegetables, fruits and spices – both for the local and the export markets.

We also face a major challenge – recovery and rehabilitation in the Visayas which we should use as an opportunity to start a fresh and “build back better.”

2. Pursuing the metaphor of games, our two important “games” are:
a) Investment in public goods, and
b) Growing our agri-based enterprises.
It is through these two major interventions that we will deliver major scores on inclusive growth.

Among our infrastructure interventions, our targets in irrigation are already set. We still have important assignments to complete, including the FMR road network plan that would connect all our projects to the major arteries. We also need to establish the necessary post-harvest facilities, commodity by commodity, and major trading posts.

3. The infrastructure investment is closely linked with the agri-based enterprises that will engage the farmers to earn better incomes. We need to go past the paper plans and studies, and get these enterprises going on the ground.

Once again, let us emphasize our focus high value crops: coffee, cacao, rubber, spices, vegetables and fruits. We like to talk about the great possibilities for sampaloc, jackfruit, peking duck, native pigs, achuete, siling labuyo, peanuts, monggo, paminta, and many more. In the next two years, let us do the necessary steps to produce the marcoted planting materials and the needed seeds, identify the production areas and link these with the markets and begin producing. We cannot merely dream about potentials. We need to start producing and the farmers have to start realizing the gains.

We also need to spend on preparing the farmers to participate as service providers in various undertakings like nurseries contracting to replant identified farms, contracting to do intercropping, and production of seeds and other planting materials. This is in addition to services some are already providing inland preparation, planting and harvesting.


4. For this, we need our Regional Managers to act as leader-managers and deploy all the resources required to achieve program results. For commodities with particular agencies involved, close coordination with the regional offices and the technical service units is essential. Determine what you can deliver between now and 2015 while ensuring that you we do not lose sight of the long term vision of gainfully engaging the most farmers and fisheries in these commodities.

 

 

 OIC RED Angel Enriquez shares with DA – 7 staff during flag ceremony Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala’s message read for him by ASEC Antonio Fleta at the recent internal budget hearing in Palawan.

 

 

5. I ask you to clearly lay out your targets in numbers of farmers and fishers engaged, areas covered, production levels achieved, public investments for your priority commodities and the critical support services that you will deliver from 2014 to 2016.

We need to rationalize our allocation of time from planning and consultations toward implementation and results delivery. Let us assess how much time and money we spent on meetings and training and conferences in the last three years. In the next two years, let us devote more of our time and activities to results delivery by working closely with our partners and stakeholders to get those investments on the ground and deliver the critical support services on time.

In closing, let me thank all of you for the DA performance in 2013. May mga matinding pagsubok ang ating pinagdaanan. Sama-sama nating hinarap ang mga ito. Salamat sa ating pagtutulungan, hindi matatawaran ang resulta ng ating pagsisikap nitong nakaraang taon.

Sa simula ng ating panunungkulan, ipinangako natin na ang DA ay magiging Kagawarang maipagmamalaki natin, dahil naipakita naipadama natin ang tapat na paglilingkod sa ating mga kababayan, lalo na sa mga magsasaka at mangingisda. Kaya ang nagging unang panawagan ng Agri-Pinoy ay – “Bridge the gap. Touch the heart.” Sinundan ito ng panawagang – “Focus our minds. Deliver Results.”

Sa pagharap natin sa mga gawain at targets sa ating “last two minutes,” alalahanin natin ang mga panawagang ito. Sec. PJ.ALCALA