By Manny Piñol
The Department of Agriculture (DA) will launch in May a national program aimed at helping provinces craft a sustainable agricultural master plan which would focus on environmental protection for greater food production.
The Provincial Agriculture Master Plan will also identify the key agricultural infrastructure projects needed by each province so that these could be included in the annual program planning of the DA.
The Agriculture Master Plan will also include Aerial Mapping and the Updating of Database of farmers and fishermen in each province.
Mindoro Occidental, one of the hardest hit areas by the drought or El Niño, is the first province to accept the offer of the DA for the crafting of an Agriculture Master Plan which will include concerns on forest denudation and massive siltation of its rivers.
On Wednesday, during a Biyaheng Bukid sortie in San Jose town in Occidental Mindoro, I shared with Congresswoman Josephine Sato, Governor Gene Mendiola and other officials of the province the terrifying appearance of the mountains and the rivers I saw from the air.
I warned them that unless something is done about the denuded mountains and the heavily silted rivers which were already drying up, Mindoro Occidental could face an agricultural and environmental catastrophe.
My observation was validated by the farmers themselves who said that the rivers are starting to drying up and that their farms are cracking up because of the lack of water.
The provincial officials agreed to my proposal to meet the representatives of all sectors, especially the Mangyan Tribe, to review the agricultural, environmental and ecological condition of the province.
The Agriculture Master Plan will focus on ensuring sustainable food production activities in the province by ensuring the availability of water.
The Mindoro Occidental Provincial Agriculture and Environmental Planning is set on May 27 to 28 in Tagaytay City.
When completed, it will be the first comprehensive provincial Agriculture Master Plan crafted with the direct supervision of the Department of Agriculture.
The target is to complete all of the Provincial Agriculture Master Plans before the end of the term of President Rody Duterte.
(Photos of the parched rice fields were taken by the DA Biyaheng Bukid team while the photos of the silted rivers and deforested mountains were taken from an R44 helicopter using my Samsung mobile phone.)
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