SPEAKER Martin Romualdez said the House of Representatives would do all it could to help President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. achieve rice self-sufficiency for the country by the end of his term in 2028.
Romualdez said the end goal of the Marcos administration’s work in the agriculture front was rice self-sufficiency.
He said key agencies like the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) were helping make the agricultural sector more efficient and productive.
“So all-of-government approach, the Department of Agriculture, National Irrigation Authority, National Food Authority, the entire executive, legislative have joined forces,” Romualdez said in a statement.
Romualdez explained how such an approach would improve rice self-sufficiency.
The Department of Public Works and Highways will link Comprehensive Irrigation Systems with water impounding facilities to create not only reservoirs but also for flood control, he said.
“Food security is national security. So, this program is really important. First, we want to lower the price of rice … because the President really does not want any Filipino to suffer or be hungry,” he said in Filipino and English.
“But, we cannot be thinking about only that, so his long-term plan is that before his term ends, we will no longer be dependent on rice imports… So our farms need to be more efficient, irrigation and more irrigation is needed,” Romualdez added.
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