Suspensyon sa 72 NFA personnel, binawi ng Ombudsman;
P16.3-B budget para sa 2025, hiling ng NFA;
DA, nanawagan sa mga mambabatas na suportahan ang extension ng Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund
P16.3-B budget para sa 2025, hiling ng NFA;
DA, nanawagan sa mga mambabatas na suportahan ang extension ng Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund
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NewsTranscript
00:00 I'm here with Asek Arnel of the Department of Agriculture.
00:03 Asek Arnel, good afternoon to you.
00:05 Good afternoon to you, good afternoon to everyone.
00:08 Have you been to Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte?
00:11 Yes, many times already.
00:12 Because my wife is from Ilocos Norte, in Bado.
00:15 Oh, really? That's near Pagudpud.
00:18 And it's really a beautiful place, Pagudpud.
00:21 It's also near Bangui, Windmills, and Lighthouse.
00:25 So if you go to Saud Beach, which has really nice sand,
00:29 almost white then, and there's not many people,
00:33 you can go to the nearby towns like Burgos, Bangui, Pasukin,
00:40 it's on the way.
00:41 So it's good that we were given a TRA in Northern Luzon.
00:46 Alright, Asek, this issue about the reinstating
00:50 the Office of the Ombudsman in 72,
00:54 which was established by the NFA, what is the detail of this?
00:58 Yes, Nina, we are happy, especially Secretary Chu Laurel Jr.,
01:03 to lift the suspension of the new 72 warehousemen.
01:10 So, of the first 141 that were suspended,
01:13 there are the first 23 that were lifted, plus the 72.
01:18 So, the total is 95.
01:20 There are still 46 suspended,
01:24 including the Administrator, Deputy Administrator,
01:28 and some branch managers that are still left.
01:31 And we are happy because these warehousemen are important
01:36 for our delicious food to be opened,
01:41 and those who haven't bought yet,
01:43 we can be sure that the National Food Authority
01:46 will continue to provide services.
01:48 Alright, so just to be clear, these are the warehousemen.
01:52 So, there are still 46 suspended,
01:56 what are their positions?
01:58 Nina, this is still included, the Administrator Bioco,
02:03 our Deputy Administrator,
02:06 and our branch managers who are still in the country.
02:11 So, all in all, there are still 46 left.
02:14 Alright, this is what the NFA said,
02:16 that it needs 16.3 billion pesos for the next year.
02:22 What is this for?
02:24 Nina, aside from our requirement of 9 billion pesos for the NFA
02:29 for their purchase,
02:30 they buy rice, fresh and dry,
02:34 almost 9 billion a year.
02:37 The NFA also needs to meet the drying and milling capacity.
02:45 At present, they can dry only about 31,000 metric tons,
02:50 as against more than 400,000 metric tons of rice
02:54 that needs to be dried.
02:56 So, this year, we already have 5 billion
02:59 for this type of facility.
03:02 So, we really need to add this to make sure
03:05 that the NFA can buy, especially the fresh ones,
03:08 because that's what needs to be supplied immediately for drying,
03:12 especially when it rains.
03:15 This wet season is very important for these facilities
03:19 to make sure that our farmers won't be damaged
03:23 and the price won't be depressed.
03:26 Alright.
03:27 The DA also called on the Mamba Batas
03:30 to support the extension of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund.
03:35 What is this, Asec?
03:37 Nina, this is part of the rice tariffication loan
03:40 that will end this year, the effectivity.
03:43 RCEF has a 10 billion fund every year.
03:49 This is from the tariff that we collected.
03:52 Last year, the Bureau of Customs collected almost 30 billion pesos,
03:57 29.97 billion to be exact.
04:00 And the 10 billion is an automatic appropriation
04:03 that our farmers will benefit from.
04:06 Out of the 10 billion,
04:07 5 billion will go to mechanization through the PhilMEC.
04:11 3 billion is for inbred seeds that are managed by PhilRice.
04:15 1 billion as credit assistance to rice farmers
04:19 through Land Bank and DBP.
04:21 And 1 billion is for their farming.
04:25 So, in the extension and amendment of the RTL,
04:30 we proposed to make at least 15 billion for RCEF.
04:35 And the excess collection will be used for irrigation,
04:42 for rice farmers financial assistance.
04:44 This is the 5,000 pesos that will be distributed
04:47 to farmers whose rice yield is less than 2 hectares.
04:52 So, we are thankful to RTL, especially to RCEF,
04:57 because it helped a lot.
04:59 The performance of the rice sector increased by almost 7%
05:06 since the RTL was passed.
05:08 And this is very good for our overall rice productivity.
05:12 Okay, so from 10 billion, you want to make 15 billion?
05:16 That's the minimum,
05:17 because our collection is always big every year.
05:20 Alright.
05:21 We have a question from our media partner,
05:24 Belia Carriazo of Philippine Star.
05:27 This is about the Climate Change Panel
05:30 that was formed by DA Secretary Laurel.
05:34 What is the significance of this,
05:35 especially since the plan is already in place
05:38 and the LNEO is not yet completed?
05:41 You're right, this is very important.
05:44 Special Order No. 703
05:46 that was signed by our Secretary Chu Laurel Jr.,
05:50 it strengthens our Climate Resiliency Agriculture Office
05:54 to ensure that the Climate Action Plans
05:57 are included in the budget
05:59 and that it can be implemented.
06:01 So, for example, here,
06:03 our assistance in putting in interventions against LNEO.
06:08 Now, we will have a third and fourth quarter.
06:13 Normally, LNEO has a bigger effect than LNEO.
06:18 That's why a large part of our funds
06:21 will be used for our mitigation measures
06:25 against climate change
06:26 and to form a plan or the so-called climate actions
06:31 in coordination with other agencies
06:35 that are focused on climate change.
06:37 We cannot avoid this.
06:39 It's already here.
06:40 And LNEO is increasing.
06:43 Normally, it's frequency is every two to five years.
06:46 And now, it's increasing and getting stronger.
06:50 Alright.
06:51 In another discussion,
06:52 you said that World Milk Day is being celebrated.
06:56 When will it be held, Sec?
07:00 Our World Milk Day is held every June 1.
07:03 It was led by the Food and Agriculture Organization.
07:07 This year, it will be held
07:09 at the compound of the Bureau of Animal Industry.
07:12 And on May 31, that's in the afternoon.
07:15 And there are many fresh milk
07:19 and other flavors that are available there.
07:21 So, we invited our fellow countrymen
07:24 to come here and taste
07:26 the different kinds of fresh milk
07:29 that are available.
07:30 And we are happy that our production is increasing
07:34 because we have more cattle and goats
07:39 that are giving us additional milk.
07:42 And we expect that our milk production
07:47 will increase by at least 5% to 8%
07:50 because of improvements in the herd
07:53 and the increase in the number of dairy milk,
07:57 dairy cattle, and dairy goats.
07:59 Where do our milk production usually come from in the country?
08:04 Most of it is from the Calabarzon area,
08:08 in Visayas, and also from the North.
08:11 78% of the fresh milk comes from the cows or cattle.
08:17 And the balance is with the goats,
08:20 or what we call dairy goats.
08:22 So, we are improving the breed
08:25 because we want to increase the milk
08:29 that is obtained from each cow and goat
08:32 because our productivity is still far away.
08:35 But that is the action that we are doing now.
08:38 Because if you compare it to the cattle of other countries,
08:40 it seems like it is thinner.
08:42 Did it have anything to do with milk production?
08:45 Our native dairy does not have that much milk production
08:49 compared to New Zealand and Australia.
08:52 Their cows are really big
08:54 and they are better at giving milk than us.
08:58 That is why we are having a breeding program.
09:02 The only issue is that if we bring them here,
09:05 we still need to acclimatize them.
09:08 That is the problem.
09:10 Breeding is needed to make sure that
09:13 they can survive here and can give more milk.
09:17 That is what we are doing.
09:18 Next, we will have cheese.
09:21 We have white cheese.
09:22 Yes, we are also producing white cheese
09:25 and other types of cheese.
09:28 Especially the goat cheese.
09:31 It is delicious and the quality is premium.
09:34 Alright, thank you very much, Asek Arnel,
09:36 for the updates that you shared with us
09:39 from the Department of Agriculture.