Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. on Monday said the direction of the Department of Agriculture (DA) will go as planned despite new executives joining the department.

“Sa laki ng coverage ng DA, kailangang tumutok or may mag-focus sa bawat area (Because of the wide coverage of the DA, there should be [someone] focusing in each area),” he said in an ambush interview.

“Sa rami ng gagawin (There’s much to do). Of course initially, nandiyan iyong (there’s) overlapping. As we go along ma-adjust iyan, naka-focus na lahat. Actually na-layout na lahat, may direksyon na (As we go along, it’ll be adjusted, everything is focused. Actually, everything is laid out, there is a direction),” he added.

Laurel made the statement following the appointment of two DA undersecretaries, Nora dela Cruz Oliveros and Allan Quimson Umali, and two assistant secretaries, Daniel Alfonso Nieto Atayde and Philip Chan Young.

Umali will be Undersecretary for Administration while Oliveros will be in charge of finance.

Atayde helps with the DA’s logistics strategy preparation while Young shall look over exports.

“Mga taga-DA talaga, mga industry players na kasama ko, kasama rin. Mga retired na technical, sinama rin namin para (They were originally from the DA, industry players whom I worked are also included. Retired technical were also involved so) we see a whole-of-nation approach. We invite everybody to join in,” Laurel said.

The DA said it will continue to collaborate with the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) to look into its strategic communication.

“I’m still relying on them to counter-check iyong mga direction ng stratcom para solid lahat (the direction of strategic communication so everything is solid). Everybody, coordination, everybody moves in unison,” Laurel said.

The DA has turned its quarterly meetings into weekly stratcoms to discuss plans and address issues including food security challenges, food inflation, production and logistics cost, and other local productivity targets. (PNA)