The Provincial Agricultural and Fishery Council (PAFC) in Quezon Province, through the help of the Office of the Provincial Agriculture (OPA), immediately responded to the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) “Ahon Lahat, Pagkaing Sapat (ALPAS) kontra COVID-19” or known as “Plant, Plant, Plant Program”.

The program is an initiative of the Department to increase farm productivity and ensure food sufficiency during the Enhance Community Quarantine caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

PAFC Quezon acquired the seeds and distributed it to the Municipal Agricultural and Fishery (MAFC) Chairpersons and farmer members. The AFC clarified that the free seeds were also distributed to other barangays to create opportunity for the residents to produce food and participate in DA’s program.

PAFC members also spearheaded continuous monitoring of land preparation, maintenance, harvesting, and will also help on the marketing stages of the beneficiaries.

The program will benefit farmers, fisherfolk, and consumers to enhance food security concerns across the country. The DA is also committed to providing adequate, accessible, and affordable food for every Filipino family.

It seeks to increase national agri-fishery output through intensified use of quality seeds, appropriate inputs, and modern technologies to increase levels of productivity across all commodities.

To help widen people’s access to food, the Department is encouraging big agribusiness companies and consolidators to invest in cluster farming, in partnerships with organized farmers’ and fisherfolk’s groups. ### (Jerace Espinola of PDD-SMS, Edited by KMS)