Intensified agri program to start in Eastern Visayas this year

PALO, Leyte, Feb. 21 (PNA) –- The 2017-2022 Regional Development Plan (RDP) will roll out an intensified program for the agriculture sector in Eastern Visayas, a top regional official of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) said.

Citing competitive advantages in terms of geography and climate, NEDA Regional Director Bonifacio Uy said the region is in better position to grow and trade crops compared to Mindanao.

“We have so much economic potential in terms of agriculture here. Our goal for the next RDP is to strengthen the agriculture so that we could come up a good linkage with the agri-business sectors,” he said.

The agri-business industry in the region offers great potential for creating employment in the region, according to Uy.

“The abundant human and natural resources and local and global opportunities are factors that can be tapped to bring agri-business to a higher level towards economic progress in the region,” the official explained.

Eastern Visayas is strong in the production of traditional crops, but its output is not enough to make significant economic improvements.

In 2008, the region was found to be self-sufficient in corn, root crops, fruits, vegetables and livestock. Based on this scenario, an increase in agricultural production for agri-business purposes is targeted for the next five years.

“We have an advantage because we are nearer to other metro cities like Cebu and Manila than Mindanao. We just have to identify which crops and livestock we should produce and we have a good chance in competing with other producers in the country. But unfortunately, we do not have all kinds of crops in our region,” Uy added.

To achieve agriculture-driven economic growth, NEDA identified the following challenges: access to funds and marketing channels, venturing into other crops and moving aggressively into agri-business for high value-added products and services, raising productivity and efficiency in production and processing, and optimizing the use of the region’s vast idle lands suitable for agriculture.

Eastern Visayas is an agricultural area. About 45 percent or 976,415 hectares of its total land area is devoted to agriculture. Only 28 percent is forest lands, 25 percent is grasslands and the rest is used for other purposes.

Of its agricultural lands, 70 percent is planted to coconut and 20 percent is devoted to rice and corn. The rest is planted to other crops, used to raise livestock and poultry, or produce inland fishery products.

Despite a vast land devoted to farming, the sector has no significant contribution to economic growth.

Based on the 2015 regional economic report, agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing continued to decline, but at a slower rate from 12.7 percent in 2014 to 3.5 percent in 2015.

Although most of the region’s families are dependent on farming and fishery, the sector’s share to the local economy plunged to 16.7 percent from 18 percent in 2014 and 20.1 percent in 2013. (PNA)

LAP/SQM/JOHN RAY B. SUDARIO