By Ellalyn de Vera-Ruiz The Department of Agriculture (DA) is set to reinvent its field offices, bureaus, and attached agencies, including its plans, programs, and activities, to be able to adapt to the "new normal." Agriculture Secretary Dr. William D. Dar (KEVIN TRISTAN ESPIRITU / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN) "We cannot go back to yesterday. We must use our past achievements to rebuild our institutions, like that of the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM)," said DA Secretary William Dar during the 69th anniversary of the BSWM on Monday. "Reinvention needs a lot of courage to drop what is not anymore relevant during this new normal, and focus on four major areas: soils, water, farming systems, and policy advocacy," he added. In particular, Dar asked the BSWM to continuously rejuvenate the country's "sick" soils through a scientific and efficient management program to ensure farm productivity and optimize crop yields. "I am very passionate in campaigning for rejuvenation as it enables the soil to regenerate and restore the lost nutrients throughout the years, making it healthy and productive once again," he said. Dar underscored the importance of maintaining sustainable land management as one of the key initiatives of the BSWM to attain the country's vision of a food secure and resilient Philippines with prosperous farmers and fishers. The second major task of the BSWM is to ensure good water management, particularly efficient use of water as a scarce resource, and obviously the key and lifeblood of agriculture. BSWM should also be lead agency in promoting diversified farming technologies and systems, most particularly in rainfed and upland areas, he said. Diversified farming systems, like on agro-forestry and crop-livestock, serve as vehicles to ensure sustainable food production with minimum impact on the environment, and at the same time providing marginal and rainfed and upland farm families, including indigenous peoples, additional sources of livelihood and incomes. Dar also cited the need for the BSWM to craft sound policies to support the three major areas in pushing for a food security development framework that is science-based, inclusive, climate-smart, and resilient. He urged the agency to partner with the local government units to enhance and efficiently transfer modern soil and water management technologies to farmers, and to transform all regional and provincial research stations of the DA family into model agri-tourism sites that showcase modern, productive, and resilient agriculture. The DA chief also highlighted the development of new researches focusing on soil health and sustainable agriculture with regenerative agriculture.