City’s agri dev’t plan pushed

The Agriculture Development Board of Davao City, Inc. is pushing for the formulation of a plan to delineate potential food crops and industrial crops areas, formulate a set of strategies for the agriculture sector, and identify policies, programs and projects that will achieve the “desired development of the agriculture sector of the city.”
The board said the formulation of the plan, called Agricultural Development Plan of Davao City, covering the period 2010 to 2030, would also result to a comprehensive assessment of the present state of the city’s agricultural development, including its production potentials and constraints, particularly foreign and domestic markets for both fresh and processed agricultural products.
The plan’s formulation, according to the project proposal submitted to the city government, would involve updating and validating of agricultural and related data needs, and the conduct of a comprehensive review and analysis of agricultural commodities covering food crops, industrial/plantation crops, livestock and poultry, and fisheries.
It will also conduct multi-stakeholder workshops and seminars to validate the inputs and outputs of the agricultural planning process.  
The board argued that twelve years since the Davao City Comprehensive Development Plan (DC CDP) — 1996-2021 — was approved and officially adopted by the city government, “considerable changes have occurred that may have changed the economic landscape of the city,” notably the increase in the city’s population.
“The increase in population necessitates the allocation of more land for residential, commercial and industrial purposes, thereby reducing the area that was once devoted to agricultural production,” it said.
The board noted that as a primarily agricultural area, agricultural development and agri-industrialization shall be the direction of Davao City’s thrust. 
“Agri-industrialization can be achieved through modernized production, supplied with technical infrastructures and developed science and technology. Davao City’s agriculture activities must, therefore, shift from raw material, extractive-based to a more high or value-added, process-oriented agricultural activities without prejudice to maintaining rice production.  Food processing and agri-based manufacturing activities shall be promoted,” it said.
“Emphasis (must therefore be) placed on the adjustment that the city’s agricultural sector must take with respect to the rapid urbanization of the city, climate change, and the need to optimize the agricultural production potential of the city,” it added.