Use one million hectares of idle land
for food production

The chairman of the senate committee on agriculture today asked government to immediately put to use one million hectares of idle and barely-used lands for agricultural production, specifically to augment the area planted to rice.

Angara said that the more than one million hectares of fully irrigated lands and the more than 2 million hectares of rain-fed rice areas can be augmented by the one million hectares of idle lands that can be tapped for agricultural production immediately.

Angara said that the Department of Agriculture (DA) had identified the additional lands that can be put to productive use during his term as agriculture secretary.

Angara said that mobilizing the idle lands for full agricultural production will not be expensive and will be worth the cost of developing the areas.

Angara said that the country's agricultural areas, including prime rice lands , have been shrinking at an alarming pace and this is the reason behind the recent proposal to impose a ban on the conversion of agricultural lands into subdivisions and other uses.

Angara said he fully supports such initiative.

Angara said that the Philippines has a solid and modern rice production culture and the provision of enough lands for rice production will solve the minor supply problem.

Angara said that the country can no longer rely on imported rice to boost local supply as the global supply is tight and rice prices have been surging on the global market.

"We have to produce our own needs," said Angara.

Angara , during his term as agriculture secretary, crafted a medium-term rice production program that sought to make the Philippines self sufficient in rice within three to five years.

The program covered areas such as hybrid seeds, adequate credit, massive extension support and adequate irrigation.