News Details

DA Chief Orders Accelerated Farm-to-Market Linkages, Stronger Direct Buying to Protect Farmers’ Incomes

NPO

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December 14, 2025

DA, MANILA, PHILIPPINES -- Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. has directed government agencies under the Department of Agriculture (DA) to move with greater speed and discipline in strengthening market access, stabilizing demand, and providing business-oriented support to farmers and fisherfolk.

Speaking at the closing of the inaugural meeting of the Farmers and Fisherfolk Enterprise Development Council, Tiu Laurel stressed that delays are no longer acceptable. He urged agencies—including the Department of Trade and Industry, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Finance, the Cooperative Development Authority, and four private sector representatives—to act decisively.

“We must accelerate,” the DA chief said. “Our enterprises deserve predictable, meaningful demand. We must deliver that.”

Central to his directives is the expansion of direct government purchases from accredited farmers’ and fisherfolk’s cooperatives and enterprises (FFCEs), which he said is essential to stabilizing rural incomes. “Scaling up is what gives enterprises the stable demand they require,” he noted.

Tiu Laurel also instructed DA offices to strengthen market linkages using updated producer supply maps to more effectively match producers with buyers in both the public and private sectors.

He highlighted the ongoing revival of Food Terminal Inc. (FTI), restoring its original mandate of buying directly from farmers with minimal margins and addressing logistics gaps. “We’re bringing FTI back to its former glory,” he said.

The DA chief further pushed for stronger data systems and uniform standards. He called for enhancements to the Farmers and Fisherfolk Enterprise Development Information System (FFEDIS) and a nationwide rollout of the Enterprise Capacity Development Plan (ECDP) to eliminate fragmented government interventions and ensure sustainable agricultural and fishery enterprises.

Field extension services will also be rebuilt. Tiu Laurel announced the restoration of the DA’s extension workforce starting next year, with around 12,000 personnel to be deployed. A bill sponsored by Senator Francis Pangilinan will revive the Bureau of Agricultural Extension to support the Sagip Saka Act and the Farmers and Fisherfolk Enterprise Development Program.

Financing must also become more enabling, he added, urging the Agricultural Credit Policy Council and state banks Land Bank of the Philippines and Development Bank of the Philippines to streamline credit access for scaling enterprises.

“There is money,” Tiu Laurel emphasized. “We just have to get our act together.”

He concluded with a call for monthly monitoring by the Council to ensure quick responses to challenges on the ground. “Our farmers and fisherfolk cannot wait,” he said, appealing for urgency and discipline across agencies.

— NPO News Team | DAPO-PR