JASMINE D. JASO
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – Governor Dennis ‘Delta’ Pineda is bent on adapting agricultural modernization for the benefit of the local farmers who are affected by the implementation of Rice Tarrification Law (RTL).
This was gleaned in a meeting of the governor with Maria Victoria Espaldon from the University of the Philippines – Los Baños (UPLB) and Dr. Honorio Soriano, Jr., president of Pampanga State Agricultural University (PSAU) on Thursday.
In fact, Governor Pineda expressed support for the implementation of Pampanga Agri-Modernization Program (PAMP) in the province initiated by PSAU.
Soriano said PAMP is aimed at addressing agricultural productivity, sustainability, environmental integrity, socio-economic welfare, and poverty alleviation among the Kapampangans through agricultural modernization.
Governor Delta is also interested to study the Smarter Approaches to Reinvigorate Agriculture as an Industry (SARAI) Project, introduced by UPLB.
Initially, according to Soriano, the governor already committed P1.5-millon for the planning and additional funds for the initial implementation of PAMP.
Meanwhile, Espaldon explained that project SARAI is designed to make use of precision agriculture and science to develop tools, systems, and approaches to enable various stakeholders cope and adjust to climate change.
“This will also provide farmers and local government units (LGUs) crop advisories forecasts, integrated pest and nutrient management, water management, and alternative planting dates,” she said.
It was learned that SARAI is a three-year research program funded by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic, and Natural Resources Research and Development – Department of Science and Technology (PCAARRD-DOST), and is implemented in UPLB.
As this developed, Governor Pineda immediately ordered Management Information System Officer Mary Lou Espaltero to check the facility located in Los Baños to see how SARAI monitoring system works.
Also in the meeting were 3rd district Board Member Ananias Canlas, Jr., Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) head Angelina Blanco, Department of Agriculture (DA), National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), and other representatives from UPLB and PSAU.
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