Question & AnswerQ&A (Act No. 2723)
The main purpose of Act No. 2723 is to provide for the adoption of necessary and efficacious measures to increase the agricultural production of foodstuffs in the Philippines.
The Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources is authorized to adopt all necessary measures to increase agricultural production as deemed advisable and efficacious.
Yes, the Secretary of Agriculture may employ necessary personnel even if they are not classified, except those assigned to clerical duties.
The Secretary of Agriculture shall determine what agricultural food products are most adaptable to each locality after hearing the opinion of the municipal councils concerned.
The Secretary of Agriculture may grant cash prizes at his discretion to small agriculturists who till the fields themselves and obtain the largest production.
Yes, the Act includes the breeding, systematic improvement, and propagation of swine and poultry, as well as the growing of vegetables, fruits, and tubers whenever feasible.
With the consent of the Governor-General or proper Department head, government offices and employees are obliged to cooperate in the campaign to increase agricultural production, and such services are considered rendered to their respective offices.
The Secretary must take necessary measures for the preservation of foodstuffs that can or must be preserved according to their nature and necessity.
The Secretary must secure data concerning the demand, supply, manufacture, warehousing, and consumption of foodstuffs; available seeds; and other data useful in ascertaining actual production of food crops including swine, poultry, vegetables, fruits, and tubers.
Five hundred thousand pesos is appropriated for the purposes of the Act, including expenses for propaganda, lectures, demonstrations, and necessary equipment for investigations, experiments, and demonstrations related to preserved foods.
The appropriation is available until January 1, 1919, after which any unexpended balance shall revert to the Insular Treasury.
The Secretary is authorized to issue rules and regulations necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act and may issue provincial orders fixing minimum quantities of foodstuffs that each family or individual must produce upon majority petition of provincial boards and approval of the Secretary of the Interior.
Persons failing to comply without sufficient reason, refusing to provide statements or documents, or providing false information may be fined up to two hundred pesos or subjected to subsidiary imprisonment if the fine is not paid.
The Act took effect on its passage and continued in force until October 16 following the proclamation of peace between the United States and Germany.