DA Sec. Prospero Alcala visited Mindanao to meet farmers and Local Chief Executives last August 9, 2010.
Sec. Alcala was the first secretary to come down and talk to LCEs and farmers. Among the farmers he met were small-scale banana growers and coconut farmers. He also gave way for the first press conference of Davao City Press Club and also met the governors and city mayors of Region XI.
During his visit, he emphasized organic agriculture as an alternative to conventional farming system which heavily relies on expensive synthetic inputs. He also stressed that there will be no more rice importation in 3 years time. He however said that it is not easy to solve the problem on rice cartel however they are taking actions that cannot be divulge yet.
Sec. Alcala is an engineer by profession but grew as a farmers’ kid. As a former congressman, he authored the Organic Act of 2010 (RA10068) and Climate Change Act (RA9729) among others.
