POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

QUEZON CITY CAMPUS

Don Fabian St., Brgy. Commonwealth, Quezon City

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
DOCUMENTATION

Submitted to:
Roseller M. Malabanan
Professor, Political Science

August 12, 2016

By:
Keith Franch Bernal

Gerard Maglaque

Anne Nicole Cagulang

Joshua Miguel Magtibay

John Patrick Loyola

Renson Joshua Reyes

Department of Agriculture

The Department of Agriculture (Kagawaran ng

Pagsasaka), is the executive department of the Philippine
government responsible for the promotion of agricultural and
fisheries development and growth. It has its headquarters
at Elliptical Road corner Visayas Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City.
The department is currently led by the Secretary of Agriculture,
nominated by the President of the Philippines and confirmed by
the Commission on Appointments. The Secretary is a member of
the Cabinet. The current Secretary of Agriculture is Manny Piol.

Mandate
The Department is the government agency responsible for the promotion of agricultural
development by providing the policy framework, public investments, and support services needed for
domestic and export-oriented business enterprises.
In the fulfillment of this mandate, it shall be the primary concern of the Department to improve
farm income and generate work opportunities for farmers, fishermen and other rural workers. It shall
encourage people's participation in agricultural development through sectoral representation in
agricultural policy-making bodies so that the policies, plans and programs of the Department are
formulated and executed to satisfy their needs.
It shall also use a bottom-up self-reliant farm system approach that will emphasize social
justice, equity, productivity and sustainability in the use of agricultural resources.

Vision
A modernized smallholder agriculture and fisheries; a diversified rural economy that is
dynamic, technologically advanced and internationally competitive. Its transformation is guided by
the sound practices of resource sustainability, the principles of social justice, and a strong private
sector participation.

Mission
To help and empower the farming and fishing communities and the private sector to produce
enough, accessible and affordable food for every Filipino and a decent income for all.

History
The Department of Agriculture had its beginnings when President Emilio Aguinaldo established
the Department of Agriculture and Manufacturing on June 23, 1898. Jose Alejandrino was
appointed the first Secretary.
The Bureau of Agriculture grew rapidly until it was abolished by the enactment of Act No. 2666,
otherwise known as "An Act to Re-organize the Executive Department of the Government of the
Philippine Islands," on November 18, 1916, and was implemented on January 1, 1917. This act
provided for the establishment of the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (DANR),
which would take over direct executive control, direction, and supervision of the Bureaus of
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Agriculture, Forestry, Lands, Science, and Weather, as well as all matters concerning hunting,
fisheries, sponges and other sea products, and such others as may be assigned to it by law.
By virtue of another reorganization act (through Act No. 4007 [4]) in 1932, the DANR became
the Department of Agriculture and Commerce. The Bureau of Commerce, which used to be under
the Department of Commerce and Communication, was placed under the reorganized Department.
In 1942, while the Commonwealth Government was in exile, the Department was re-organized
again, becoming the Department of Finance, Agriculture and Commerce. Upon the resumption of
the Commonwealth in February 1945, it became the Department of Justice, Agriculture and
Commerce, and then back to being the Department of Agriculture and Commerce in December of
the same year.
In 1947, it was renamed again as the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources by
virtue of Executive Order No. 94 by Pres. Manuel Roxas. The Bureau of Commerce, among others,
was incorporated to the newly created Department of Commerce and Industry.
On September 14, 1959, the DANR moved to its current building in Diliman, Quezon City from
the Agrifina Circle (now the Teodoro Valencia Circle) in Manila.
By virtue of Presidential Decree 461, signed into law by Pres. Ferdinand Marcos, the DANR
was split in May 1974 into two departments: the Department of Agriculture and the Department of
Natural Resources (which later became the current DENR).
After the shift to the parliamentary system in 1978, all departments were changed to ministries.
Thus, the office became the Ministry of Agriculture and Food until 1987, when the department was
renamed again as the Department of Agriculture, through Pres. Corazon Aquino's Executive Order
No. 116.
The same EO mandated the DA to promote agricultural development by providing the policy
framework, public investment, and support services, which are needed for domestic and exportoriented business enterprises. Guided by the principle that agriculture is business, the DA
implemented policy and institutional reforms that freed the agriculture markets, enabling farmers to
enjoy higher farmgate prices. These reforms included the dismantling of agricultural monopolies and
the elimination of agricultural taxes. Reforms in the agricultural credit system, such as the phase-out
of the direct lending scheme, was also initiated.
In May 2014, pursuant to Executive Order No. 165, four agencies representing three-quarters
of the DA's budget the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority, the National Food Authority, the National
Irrigation Administration, and the Philippine Coconut Authority were removed from DA control. This
was part of the anti-corruption reforms which followed the pork barrel scam. The four agencies are
now directly under the Office of the President, where they are overseen by the Presidential Assistant
for Food Security and Agricultural Modernization.

EMMANUEL "MANNY" F. PIOL

Secretary

UNDERSECRETARIES
BERNADETTE ROMULO-PUYAT
Undersecretary for Administration and Finance, Acting Chief-of-Staf

Atty. BAI RANIBAI DILANGALEN

Undersecretary for Special Concerns and Head, ACEF
Scholarship Program

SEGFREDO R. SERRANO
Undersecretary for Policy, Planning, Research and Development and
Regulations

EVELYN LAVIA
Undersecretary for Agribusiness and High Value Crops

ARIEL T. CAYANAN
Officer-in-Charge, Undersecretary for Operations and National Project
Director of the DA-Philippine Rural Development Project

Cmdre. EDUARDO GONGONA (Ret.)

Undersecretary for Fisheries, & Director, Bureau of
Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR)

ASSISTANT SECRETARIES

RICHARD AO, II
Assistant Secretary for Operations

EMMANUEL RUBEN T. MALTO, Jr.

Assistant Secretary for Administration

Atty. FRANCISCO VILLANO, JR.

Assistant Secretary for Finance

Dr. ENRICO GARZON

Assistant Secretary for Livestock

LEANDRO H. GAZMIN
Assistant Secretary for Agribusiness

LEREY PANES
Assistant Secretary for Planning, Project Development, & Special Projects

PAZ J. BENAVIDEZ, II
Assistant Secretary for Regulations

Atty. HANSEL DIDULO

Assistant Secretary for the Visayas

SILVINO Q. TEJADA
Designated as National Focal Person and
Chairman of the National Technical Working Group of the DA-DAR-DENR
Enhanced National Convergence
Initiative for Sustainable Rural Development (NCI-SRD)

ARNEL V. DE MESA
Officer-in-Charge, National Deputy Project Director
of the DA-Philippine
Rural Development Program

JENNIFER E. REMOQUILLO
National Program Coordinator, High Value Crops Development Program

ANTONIO G. GERUNDIO
Special Technical Adviser
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Operations

LEMUEL A. ALAGON
Special Technical Assistant for DA Projects, DA-OSEC, Farm-to-Market
Roads Program

CAROLYN C. CASTRO
Officer-in-Charge, Director, Agribusiness and
Marketing Assistance Service

ELSA A. PAROT
Program Coordinator, National Organic Agriculture Program

Col. DANNY LUNA

Director, Internal Audit Service

CARLOS L. MAGNAYE
Director, Planning Service

JOAQUIN C. ABEJAR, Jr.

Director, Administrative Service

MIRIAM CORNELIO
Director, Financial and Management Service

NOEL A. PADRE
Director, Policy Research Service

ROY M. ABAYA
Director, Field Operations Service

CLINT D. HASSAN
Director, Information and Communications Technology Service

FERNANDO D. FLORES
Officer-in-Charge, Director, Project Development Service

Atty. ROLAND A. TULAY

Officer-in-Charge, Director, Legal Service

Purpose of the Department of Agriculture

The Department of Agriculture is the principal agency of the Philippine government responsible
for the promotion of agricultural development growth. In pursuit of this, it provides the policy
framework, helps direct public investments, and in partnership with local government units (LGUs)
provides the support services necessary to make agriculture and agri-based enterprises profitable
and to help spread the benefits of development to the poor, particularly those in rural areas.
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Under the New Administration

To make food available, farmers
and fisherfolk must produce enough for
105 million Filipinos in a country with a
population growth of 1.9% every year.

To make food affordable, the cost

of production must be brought down
while the income earning capacity of the
people must be raised.

Diagnosis: A Nation of Twisted Psyche

Hulog ng Langit, Biyaya ng Maykapal are phrases which indicate the kind of mindset
Filipinos have. We always look up to the heavens for our salvation from poverty. We always hope that
one day, the blessings would fall from the heavens and bring relief to our sufferings as a people. In
agriculture and fisheries, this mindset is reflective at how we lap up every new product and idea
presented to us in glowing anecdotes and narratives.
The Golden Kuhol was introduced to the country as a priceless source of protein and the first
recipients of the breeding materials from overseas did not even want to share it. Today, it is a pest to
the rice farmers. The Jathropha received a P1-B support fund supposedly because it promised a
rich source of bio-diesel which would earn millions for the farmers. It ended up as a big flop and
earned the anger and ire of the farmers who felt they were duped. The list of the expensive but
fruitless experiments is long: cotton, ramie, Asian carp, Taiwan hito and many others.
The endemic and native products which the Philippines could offer to the world and dominate
the market have been neglected, sometimes even forgotten. The Philippines used to be Number 1 in
Coconut. Thailand has overtaken us. In many stores in the United States of America, coconut
products from Thailand are sold. Abaca is endemic to the Philippines but we have neglected the
product and now Ecuador which got its planting materials of the Manila Hemp from the Philippines is
fasttracking its Abaca development program.
Bangus is our national fish but we are importing our fingerlings from Taiwan. Worse, we are
losing the foreign market to them when our Bangus is described by foreign buyers are best in
quality. Milagrosa, the aromatic rice found only in the Philippines has been developed by Thailand
and now marketed world-wide as Jasmine Rice. Worse, they have claimed the brand name as theirs.
Banana, pineapple, Durian, Malunggay, Mangosteen, Cacao, Coffee, Rubber, Oil Palm,
Carageenan, Tuna, shrimps, crabs and dried fish are high-value products the Philippines could excel
in but these sectors have largely been left by government to fend for themselves. Pork, Chicken, Beef
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and ducks are other high value commodities the Philippines could produce in great volume because
of the availability of feed materials - grains, copra meal, fish meal, oyster and seashells, molasses
and hay - but we are importing these from other countries.

Solution: Back to the Basic

The countrys agriculture and fisheries program must go back to the basic - Produce Food and
Address Poverty. The programs of the Department of Agriculture now would be focused on two areas:
1.) Staple Food Commodities to ensure food security;
2.) High Value Crops to generate jobs and foreign earnings.

The first question would be: What do Filipinos eat and where and how do we produce
these commodities? The second question is: What do the local and foreign markets need
which the Philippines could produce?
So, what food do Filipinos need?
On top of the list would be rice, corn, chicken, meat, milk and dairy products, fish and marine
products and fruits, especially bananas.
And what products could be grown and raised in the Philippines which are in demand in the
local and foreign markets?
Coconut is No. 1. Then there is Cavendish and Lacatan banana, pineapple, cacao, coffee,
rubber, oil palm, abaca, shrimps, fish and marine products, seaweeds, organically grown rice and
vegetables, pork, halal chicken, spices, essential oils and tropical fruits.

Formula: First Things First

To achieve food sufficiency and maximum productivity in the country, the Department of
Agriculture under President Rody Duterte must undertake the implementation of the basic
foundations of a sound agriculture and fisheries program. The 10-step basic foundations are:
Step 1:
A National Color-Coded Agriculture and Fisheries Map;
Step 2:
A National Food Consumption Quantification Study;
Step 3:
An institutional restructuring and paradigm resetting for the Department of Agriculture and its
officials and employees;
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Step 4:
An intensive technology updating and sharing, modernization and mechanization program;
Step 5:
An easy access financing program for farmers, fishermen and agriculture and fisheries
stakeholders;
Step 6:
A strategic and effective post-harvest, storage and processing facility;
Step 7:
A government-initiated and supported aggressive marketing campaign especially for highvalue crops in foreign markets;
Step 8:
A coordinated program with other agencies of government to ensure the protection and
preservation of water sources, especially watershed;
Step 9:
A relentless campaign for the enforcement of agricultural and fisheries laws, especially on land
conversion and illegal fishing;
Step 10:
Re-introduction of basic agriculture in the primary and elementary grades of the Philippine
schools system with emphasis on the value of the land, water and seas and the maximum but
prudent utilization of these resources.

Target: Food Sufficiency

The DA will now be adopting a policy that the country must strive hard to achieve food
sufficiency, especially for our basic and staple food commodities like rice, white corn, meat, poultry,
fish and marine products. The thinking that the answer to the countrys shortage on the basic food
commodities is simply to import these from neighboring countries is now rendered moot by the fact
that our traditional sources of imported food also experienced the ill-effects of climate change.
The question that hangs over our heads now is: Where would we source our imported food if
God forbid El Nio or La Nia would ravage all of East Asia and Southeast Asia?
Or, where would we get our imported rice if suddenly the mighty Mekong River overflows its banks
and destroys the rice crops of our traditional rice suppliers? It has now become a must that this
country must achieve sufficiency in rice and other basic food commodities. It is no longer just a
choice.
For rice, the Secretary of Agriculture, Manny Piol, designed a program called RIPE or Rice
Productivity Enhancement which calls for a thorough review of the countrys water management and
irrigation policies, the conduct of a nation-wide soil analysis, an extensive program to improve rice
farming technology, the introduction of high-yielding rice varieties, effective soil rehabilitation and
fertilizer program and modern harvest and post-harvest facilities to minimize losses.

There must be a viable program to produce more white corn to supply the grains requirements
of the corn-eating provinces like Negros Oriental, Siquijor, Bohol, Cebu, Biliran, Leyte, Southern
Leyte, the three provinces of Samar and Northern Mindanao. For livestock and poultry, the country
must develop its feed components supplies and lessen its dependence on imported materials like
soya and even fishmeal to ensure that the cost of production would be lower.
For a country whose per capita meat consumption increased from 15 kilos to 35 kilos these
past few years, the Philippines sorely lacks a rational livestock and poultry development program to
ensure self-sufficiency in these sectors. Meat processors rely on imported carabeef while beef, pork
and poultry supplies have to be beefed up by imports during the peak season.
For our fish and marine products sufficiency, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources is
now tasked to implement a nation-wide program against Illegal Fishing and a 3-month closed season
during the spawning period of the distinct fish species in the different parts of the country.
A nation-wide search for the cleanest coastal communities will also be launched starting this
year using the following criteria:
1.) absence of illegal fishing;
2.) observance of closed season;
3.) well-protected marine sanctuary;
4.) garbage-free coastal waters; and
5.) sustained mangrove protection and rehabilitation program.
Winning coastal communities will be given Presidential Awards and livelihood funds
amounting to P10-M.
Funding and support for the culture and production of high value fish species like Lapu-lapu
and Maya-Maya, and commercial species like Bangus and Tilapia, shrimps, crabs and other marine
products will also be intensified.
The most critical preparation for Climate Change is in the area of water conservation and
management. For Philippine Agriculture to be sustainable and climate change-resilient, trees must
once again be grown in the denuded mountains and water flowing freely to the ocean must be
managed and conserved in small impoundings, catchment basins and dams.
The secretary designed a concept in Family-Based Agro-Forestry Program anchored mainly
on the idea of stakeholder-ship where an upland family is designated as the caretaker of an area
which has been planted to harvestable tree species to make the program sustainable.There will be a
shift in the irrigation mindset. This administration will focus more on small and community-based
irrigation projects over the highly-destructive, expensive and long-gestating mega-irrigation projects
which costs billions of pesos.
The DA will also be introducing solar-powered irrigation facilities, especially in remote villages
which are not connected to the grid to provide water not only for the rice fields but also for vegetable
gardens and for drinking purposes and most of all, to provide electric power to the community. The
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idea of using solar-powered irrigation facilities dawned upon the secretary when he visited a Tilapia
fishpond owned and managed by a Filipino-American in the middle of the desert in Southern
California. Using solar panels to trigger and power his pumps, Rocky French, draws water from over
1,000 feet below the surface to supply water to his ponds located in a 25-acre property.

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