DAVAO CITY – Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol said he intends to end the “guessing game” that most farmers practice in their farms by mapping out the areas in the country suitable for certain crops.
Piñol said they are currently undertaking a National Color Code Agriculture and Fisheries Map to determine specific areas in the country based on soil type and climactic condition that will guide the farmers on what crops to grow to achieve food sufficiency and maximum productivity in the country.
He said the country’s lack of this map has made farming “a guessing game for the Filipino farmers” with the lack of knowledge on what best crops would grow on the kind of soil in their farms, which has made them do an actual experimentation that takes “years, money, and effort.”
“Farming has made a guessing game for the Filipino farmers kasi walang guidance from the government. They do not even know what kind of soil do they have in their farm,” he said.
Piñol was dismayed how the DA implemented a generic program that he said allowed the planting of several crops across all regions in the country with no regard if it will grow with the kind of soil and climate in a specific region.
“What is given to Region 1 is also given to Region 12. What is given to Region 7 is given to Region 2, never mind if the people will not need the carabaos… People simply plan, for example, a cacao in one region, and it will not even bear fruit,” he said. (Antonio Colina)