As stipulated in the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2017-2022, Chapter 8, Expanding Economic Opportunities in Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, the agriculture, forestry, and fisheries (AFF) sector is pivotal in generating employment for about a third of the country’s labor force, thereby reducing poverty and inequality for three-fourths of the poor who are in the rural areas. AFF is also key to providing raw materials to the manufacturing and service sectors, resulting in forward linkages in terms of higher-paying and more stable job opportunities. Intensifying efforts to revitalize the AFF and harnessing its growth potentials are needed to promote more inclusive development. Given the sector’s links to agribusiness, interventions and investments will be channeled to expand existing opportunities and develop new ones, thus inducing greater participation of small farmers and fisherfolk.

 

MANDATE

The Department is the government agency responsible for the promotion of agricultural development by providing the policy framework, public investments, and support services needed for domestic and export-oriented business enterprises.

The DA envisions a food-secure and resilient Philippines with empowered and prosperous farmers and fishers. As such, it shall collectively empower them and the private sector to increase agricultural productivity and profitability, taking into account sustainable, competitive, and resilient technologies and practices. Hence, its battlecry is simply: “Masaganang Agrikultura, Maunlad na Ekonomiya”