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MANILA, Philippines - The new National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Director General said the agency will focus on increasing agriculture and industry productivity in the next four years so the country can achieve inclusive growth and meet the Millennium Development Goals.
Arsenio Balisacan, University of the Philippines School of Economics Dean, was recently appointed by President Benigno S. Aquino as Socioeconomic Planning Secretary and concurrent NEDA chief, replacing Cayetano W. Paderanga Jr.
According to NEDA, Paderanga stepped down from his post due to health reasons.
"Inclusive growth should be our mantra," Balisacan said.
"If we have a robust agricultural sector, this will keep food prices down and put less pressure on increasing wages prematurely. This will make industry more competitive," he added.
Increasing the country's agricultural productivity is not something that the government must do just because there is now a resurgence in the interest to increase agriculture growth globally, he explained. It should have been done because many poor Filipinos, especially those in the countryside, rely on the farm sector for their livelihood.
"There is now a growing interest to focus on agriculture but [in our case], we should have really been pushing for the development of the agriculture economy. Agriculture is really crucial," he said.
Prior to his latest appointment as NEDA chief, Balisacan was director-chief executive of the Southeast Asian Regional Centre for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) from 2003 to 2009, and Undersecretary of the Department of Agriculture in 2000, 2001 and 2003.
While serving as Agriculture Undersecretary, he was the country’s chief negotiator in the Agriculture Negotiations of the World Trade Organization and in various bilateral agriculture negotiations. Prior to joining the University of the Philippines, he was a research fellow at the East West Center in Honolulu, and an economist at the World Bank in Washington, D.C.
Meanwhile, Paderanga, who is turning 64 this year, said that he is "grateful to the President not only for giving me the opportunity to serve the Cabinet for the second time, but also for understanding the reasons why I decided to leave.”
Paderanga was also appointed to the same position from 1990 to 1992 during the administration of President Corazon C. Aquino.
“NEDA will be in good hands with Dean Balisacan,” said Paderanga, who is also Balisacan’s colleague at the UPSE.
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