Councils to oversee individual farm commodities

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said it hopes to organize councils to oversee each key commodity, which will meet monthly in order to achieve more systematic industry consultation.

“We will be creating councils between the DA and the private sector and the other stakeholders who will meet on a monthly basis,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. told reporters, noting the need to promote and increase farm output.

He added that the DA officials on the council will be tasked with managing specific commodities commonly grown in the Philippines.

“It really needs to be focused; there should be someone assigned to each industry,” he said.

He added that the DA will set short-term goals in addressing the concerns of various industries.

“We are the most complicated department in the country; we have fertilizer, pesticides, various commodities. We need to be creating councils and assigning a person per council,” he said. — Adrian H. Halili