PHL Agriculture policy directions on Agriculture in the context of the ASEAN Community
(Eagle News) — The Philippine agriculture sector is the country’s largest single employer, even as the government looks to the development of other modern industries.
It directly employs more than one-quarter of all workers in non-services industries. More than 11 million Filipinos relied on agriculture for their livelihood in 2013, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.
But ironically, despite accounting for more than a third of the country’s workforce, the agricultural sector contributes less than 15 percent of the total economic output.
Poverty incidence is also much higher than the national average.
The Aquino administration has claimed it had made significant reforms in the the agriculture sector, and hopes that the new administration will continue these so called reforms.
It is thus very important to assess at this point the status of Philippine agriculture. And what should be the policy directions for the new government under incoming president Rodrigo Duterte should take.
In this episode of ASEAN in Focus weekend edition, Dr. William Dar, president of the Inanglupa Movement Inc., and former executive director of the National Agricultural and Fishery Council helps discuss the issue.
Dar also served as director general of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) from 1999 to 2014.
Dar had served also as Presidential Adviser on Food Security in 1999, Secretary of the Department of Agriculture (1998-1999), aside from serving in various other government posts.
He also served as chair of the Committee on Science and Technology (CST) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in 2007-2009. He is also the first Filipino chair of the Alliance Executive of the Alliance of Centers, CGIAR in 2005, and a member of the UN Millennium Task Force on Hunger from 2004-2006.
Dr. Carlos Tabunda Jr., of the Development Academy of the Philippines interviews Dr. Dar in this ASEAN in Focus weekend edition episode.
ASEAN in Focus weekend edition airs every Saturday from 2 pm. to 3 p.m. at Net 25.
Its daily program, ASEAN in Focus, which features news and information about the ASEAN region airs Monday to Friday at 2p.m. until 2:3o p.m.
