MANILA, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines has earmarked about 300 million pesos (roughly over 5 million U.S. dollars) this year to expand climate-resilient farming for high-value vegetables, as the government seeks to curb recurring price spikes caused by weather-related supply disruptions, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said Friday.
Tiu Laurel said the funds will support basic greenhouses, drip irrigation, and water-impounding systems to ensure appropriate crop management and reduce farmers' exposure to increasingly volatile weather.
"This is a perennial problem -- sometimes chili pepper is very expensive, sometimes there is no supply at all," Tiu Laurel said. "What we want is continuous production, year-round, whether it's dry or rainy."
The initiative, dubbed the "White Revolution", is modeled after protected cultivation systems in South Korea and Cambodia that helped boost vegetable output and provide reliable local food system. ■