President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Monday pledged to step up government efforts and intensify programs to attain food security.

In his fourth State of the Nation Address, Marcos said his administration is focused on providing assistance to farmers and fisherfolk who play crucial roles in increasing food production and ensuring economic stability.

“Mula nagsimula itong administrasyon, mahigit walo at kalahating milyong magsasaka at mangingisda ang nakatanggap ng tulong. Lalo pa natin paiigtingin ang mga programa ng pamahalaan para mas marami pa ang matutulungan (Since this administration started, more than eight and a half million farmers and fisherfolk have received assistance. We will further intensify government programs to help more),” he said in his speech delivered at Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City.

Marcos said the government’s goal is to boost the production of agricultural products such as rice, corn, pineapple, banana, mango, coffee, cacao, calamansi, sugarcane, onion and garlic.

He said there are already thousands of farm machinery and facilities that will benefit farmers and fishers.

He said more Rice Processing Systems will be built and fiberglass boats will be distributed.

“Lahat ng ito ay sumusuporta sa kanila mula paghahanda, sa pagpunla, pag-ani, pagbiyahe, hanggang sa pagbenta (All of these support them from preparation, to planting, to harvesting, to traveling, to selling),” Marcos said.

“Libu-libong kilometro ng farm-to-market road na ang ginawa na at libo-libong kilometro pa ang pinapasinayaan. Libo-libong ektarya ng lupa ay nalagyan na ng patubig sa buong bansa. At libo-libong ektarya pa ang patutubigan (Thousands of kilometers of farm-to-market roads have been built, and thousands more kilometers are being inaugurated. Thousands of hectares of land have been irrigated throughout the country. And thousands more hectares will be irrigated),” he added.

Marcos said the Department of Science and Technology is using modern methods for farming and strategies such as inter-cropping and off-season techniques.

He said the government would also strengthen local production to address the surge in the prices of pork products, like distributing piglets and sows.

He said construction of biosecure hog facilities is underway and the vaccination to curb the spread of the African swine fever continues to significantly reduce the prices of meat.

Marcos said his administration aims to plant 15 million hybrid and high-quality coconut seedlings throughout the country, considering that coconut industry is the main source of livelihood of millions of Filipinos.

“At itutuloy natin ito hanggang 100 milyong puno na ng niyog ang ating ma-itatanim sa buong Pilipinas (And we will continue this until we have planted 100 million coconut trees throughout the Philippines),” he said.

“At upang lubos na pasiglahin ang industriya ng niyog, hihilingin natin sa Kongreso na amyendahan ang Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund Act, para naman maging mas angkop sa mga pangangailangan ng ating mga magsasaka (And to fully revitalize the coconut industry, we will ask Congress to amend the Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund Act, so that it is more suitable for the needs of our farmers),” Marcos added. (PNA)