ZAMBOANGA CITY, Oct. 3-(PIA) – Zamboanga Peninsula’s vision is centered around providing comprehensive support to farmers, acknowledging the challenges they face in ensuring food security and sustainable livelihood.
The Regional Development Council (RDC) in ZamPen plans to introduce state-of-the-art technologies to modernize farming practices, enhance crop yields, and optimize resource utilization and recognizes the power of the farmers and fisheries as prime movers in transforming the Philippine agriculture and fishery sector towards modernization and industrialization.
The council headed by RDC Chairperson Mayor John Dalipe initiated an Agri-Industrial Summit conducted in Zamboanga City on September 29, inviting around 400 various national and regional government agencies, local government units, private sector representatives, key industry players, and other stakeholders from the different agri-fishery sub-sectors across the region.
“Let us work together to boost the agri-fishery industry and provide opportunities to farmers and fisherfolks for us to achieve food security in the entire country,” Dalipe said.
The summit focused on food security, ensuring access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food for all and to further strengthen collaborative efforts as it envisions to become the center of sustainable agri-fishery industries of the Philippines.
The government sector plans to establish centralized locations for large-scale farms, feed mills, and agro-industrial needs, ensuring security, critical infrastructure like roads and drainage, electricity, water, reliable internet connections, port and sewage treatment plant and other support service including certifications and insurance services.
Generally, the conduct of the Zamboanga Peninsula Summit is geared towards the establishment of the agri-industrial hub, Asian halal hub, and the construction of an international port at the Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone Authority and Freeport (ZAMBOECOZONE) in Zamboanga City.
Moreover, Philippine Statistics Authority reported that the Zamboanga Peninsula’s economy grew faster from a growth of 5.7 percent in 2021 to 7.5 percent in 2022 due to the expansion in most of the industries. Agriculture, forestry and fishing posted growth rates at 2.5% in 2020-2021 and 0.5% in 2021-2022.
In unveiling these plans, ZamPen sets a new standard for corporate responsibility and innovation in the agro-industrial sector and this initiative marks a significant step towards a more sustainable, resilient, and prosperous future for the agricultural and fisheries sectors. (RVC/MLE/JQB-GIP/PIA9-Zamboanga City)
Agri-fishery summit held in Zamboanga City on September 29, 2023.
