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There is a great initiative being spearheaded by the Southern Luzon Command (SOLCOM) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines called the Economic Enhancement Project, which focuses on community-based food production and sustainability that will benefit the populace seriously affected by COVID-19 crisis. Initially, the initiative will be implemented within Lucena City, Quezon then to adjacent towns.

To ensure success of the initiative, Lt. Gen. Antonio G. Parlarde Jr. of SOLCOM sent a communication to Presidential Adviser for Southern Tagalog Sec. Dennis F. Hernandez to formally request the assistance of other government offices like the Department of Agriculture (DA), TESDA, DENR, DOLE, DSWD, DTI, and DOTr.

SOLCOM will utilize the vacant areas within their camp for vegetable production, poultry-raising, and food processing. And with the assistance of the PNP, they will also identify private farm lands within Lucena City and adjacent towns for small and medium enterprises such as native swine, goat, and rabbit raising, and other agricultural programs for less fortunate communities in the area.

After a few meetings and video conferencing, a clear action plan was hatched to initially roll out the initiative.

As one of the key government offices to assist in the initiative, the DA in Region IV-CALABARZON started to pull available resources that can be delivered as soon as it received the request from Sec. Hernandez to support the initiative.

DA IV-CALABARZON Regional Director Arnel de Mesa commended the SOLCOM’s initiative centered on food production and sustainability as it is in line with the goal of the Department to enhance food productivity, food supply availability, food accessibility, and food price stability.

“This is a great initiative because it will help expand our food production system in the region. We, in the regional office, already begun transforming available and suitable areas in our provincial offices and research stations to vegetable or livestock production sites and we want this practice to be adapted as well by other government offices, schools, and private companies.” Director de Mesa said.

“For those who are interested, the DA is very much willing to provide technical and production assistance,” the Director added.

On April 16, 2020, an inter-agency meeting with the regional line agencies of the national government (i.e. DA CALABARZON and DSWD 4-A), SOLCOM officials and sub-units, PENRO of Quezon, and concerned local government units (Lucena and Tayabas LGUs, and Quezon Provincial Government) was held to provide an overview of support of respective offices to help realize the initiative.
Secretary Hernandez recognized the critical role of farmers and agri-fishery industry to ensure food availability in this time of COVID-19 pandemic.

Recently, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) approved a resolution recognizing farmers, fishers, and farm workers as ‘frontliners’ against hunger and that their movement must not be hampered so that production and movement of agricultural and fisheries products must continue during Enhanced Community Quarantine.

According to Assistant Regional Director for Operations Dennis Arpia, among the interventions that will be provided by DA CALABARZON are the following: different vegetable seeds and fertilizer to jumpstart the vegetable production in the camp, stocks of free-range chickens and ducks for their multiplier poultry farms, and relevant trainings to capacitate the soldiers who will manage and work on the farms established. ● (RFL, DA-RAFIS)