Contrary to the allegations that the Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries (PCAF) has not consulted and involved private sectors in various dialogues on issues and concerns affecting the agriculture and fisheries sector, PCAF releases total number of resolutions from the private sector-partners passed from 2020 to January 2021.

PCAF is an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture (DA) which facilitates broad-based participatory processes in the agriculture and fisheries sector through consultations, dialogues, meetings, and monitoring of DA’s projects and programs, towards the formulation of sound policies and programs.

The agency said that after the declaration of the Enhance Community Quarantine (ECQ) in the entire island of Luzon on March 16, 2020, PCAF immediately initiated virtual dialogues with private sector stakeholders and other industry players to discuss the issues and concerns that emerged during the restrictions.

Among the first virtual dialogues conducted during the ECQ were on livestock and poultry matters.

For 2020, more than 70 virtual consultations with the Agricultural and Fishery Council (AFC) at the national level and one National Agriculture and Fisheries (NAF) Council were done. NAF Council is the highest mechanism for consultation and dialogue between and among government agencies, local government units, private entities, including non-government organizations and people’s organizations.

On the other hand, around 1,600 consultations and meetings were conducted by the AFCs at the regional, provincial, city, and municipal levels.

The consultations, dialogues and meetings resulted in about 300 policy resolutions endorsed to the DA Secretary and forwarded to other concerned offices, while 88 policy resolutions were adopted.

DA and PCAF consulted various industries which include egg industry, swine industry, poultry and feeds sector, fisheries and aquaculture sector, fiber industry, coffee and cacao industries, fruits and vegetables sector, corn sector, coconut sector, rice sectors, rubber industry, and agrilogistics group to address concerns about supplies, accessibility and prices of agricultural produce.

From 2020 up to this writing, PCAF conducts special dialogues and consultations on the control and eradication of the African Swine Fever.

The AFCs from the National Banner Program Committee on Poultry, Livestock and Corn (NBPC-PLC) endorsed 18 resolutions from 15 meetings, while AFCs from the local level consultations has passed 34 resolutions from 7 meetings.

Most of policies adopted were:

*Private sectors-partners support to the Bantay ASF sa Barangay

* Unhampering of the movement of hogs through nautical expressway from Mindanao to Luzon

* Harmonization of hog data and monthly release of statistics

* Heightened ASF surveillance and swill feeding and biosafety compliance with AFCs or other private sector-partners

* Registration of backyard hog farms

* More Kadiwa in strategic market places for greater access to agricultural products at lower prices

* Determine most feasible safeguard measures to protect local poultry industry

* Support and facilitate hog indemnification

* Develop guidelines in setting Suggested Retail Prices

* Temporary suspension of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance (SPS-IC) for frozen pork and chicken for 2 months

* Avoiding implementation of price freeze

* Enhance competitiveness of the Philippine Corn Industry through structural reforms

 

For the first quarter of 2021, PCAF scheduled the following NBPC meetings (schedule may change without prior notice):

* NBPC on HVC Fiber- February 18

* NBPC on Rice- February 19

* Committee on Agricultural and Fishery Mechanization- February 23

* NBPC on Fisheries and Aquaculture- February 24

* NBPC on Coconut- February 26

* NBPC on High Value Chain (HVC) Fruits and Vegetables – March 25

* NBPC on HVC Rubber- March 11

* NBPC on HVC Coffee and Cacao- March 12

* Climate Change- March 19

* NBPC on PLC- March 24

* International Trade- March 26

### JC