CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (Jan. 18/PIA) – The Department of Agriculture (DA) and its attached agencies, bureaus, and corporations in northern Mindanao met on January 12, to craft a unified Regional Food Security and Logistics Plan for the year 2022.

DA-10 Regional Executive Director Carlene C. Collado called on the said gathering in response to the identified action areas to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, African Swine Fever (ASF), and Typhoon Odette on the region’s food production and movement of basic food commodities.

The plan is guided by the region’s supply and demand situation with the ultimate goal of food availability and affordability.

The key activities of the said plan include the continuation of the issuance of food passes, improvement and mobilization of Kadiwa, close monitoring of planting and production areas, ascertaining NFA buffer stocks, availability of buffer seeds stocks (rice, corn, and vegetables) for the wet season.

Further, fast-tracking of Typhoon Odette rehabilitation programs and projects, minimizing impediments to free flow of goods especially to ‘Odette’-affected areas, strategic campaigns for urban, vertical, and backyard gardening, and coordination with concerned stakeholders to augment cargo allocation for hogs from the region to Luzon.

DA-RFO 10 Regional Technical Director for Operations Carlota S. Madriaga said the services of the OneDA agencies should remain unhampered despite the challenges faced by the agriculture sector.

“The pandemic is not ending any soon. We need to learn to live with the virus. We need to be resilient,” she said.
Madriaga emphasized that to be resilient, there is a need to come up with a Food Security Plan that will direct the collective actions in achieving the goals of uplifting the lives of the region’s farmers and fisherfolk in the new normal era.