LAWMAKERS have thrown their support behind the proposed increase in the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) budget for next year by at least P30 billion, to sustain government efforts in boosting farm productivity and ensuring food security.
The DA said at least four lawmakers moved to increase the department’s budget at its 2022 budget hearing conducted by the House Committee on Appropriations last Wednesday.
Leading the bloc backing the higher DA budget was Magsasaka Partylist Rep. Argel Joseph Cabatbat, who said the 11.5-percent increase in the national budget should be “reflected” in the budget for the agri-fishery sector.
The increase in DA’s budget was also backed by Ilocos Sur Rep. Deogracias Victor Savellano, Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, Pangasinan Rep. Tyrone Agabas and KABAYAN Partylist Rep. Ron Salo.
The P30-billion proposed additional budget would bring DA’s total funding to P121 billion. Under the National Expenditure Program (NEP), the DA’s proposed budget for 2022 is at P91 billion, 1.05 percent higher than its P90 billion funding this year.
“Increased investments are well and good, but it is in increasing productivity levels and diversification that we will find our footing and transition towards a more vibrant agri-based food manufacturing industry and our uncontested name in export markets,” Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said.
“Our investments should no longer be tied up in increasing production in traditional growth areas. That much is clear in the 18 key strategies we outlined in our ‘OneDA Reform Agenda’ and the food systems framework we had embraced,” Dar added.
At the hearing, Dar asked lawmakers to increase DA’s budget by at least P30 billion to bankroll programs aimed at boosting the country’s food supply.
“It is our good fortune to serve the government at such a difficult time. I humbly ask you—the Honorable Members of the House of Representatives—to consider our proposed 2022 strategies, plans and budget, for we are confident we are doing right by our expanded base of stakeholders: the farmers, fishers, consumers, entrepreneurs, and other industry partners in the Philippine food systems,” he said.
Besides sustaining efforts in rice production, Dar explained that the DA’s priorities in the succeeding years is to revitalize the hog industry and boost high-value crops production, particularly in commodities where the country has comparative advantages.
“We, therefore, seek sustained investments in rice, and increasing budgetary support for corn, high-value crops, livestock, poultry, and fisheries,” the DA chief added.
Dar said the country “can still multiply the export potentials of Philippine mangoes, coconuts, pineapple, sugarcane, and milkfish.”
“We have made a name on the world stage through these exports, and we all know it takes deep resources to uphold world-class stature,” Dar said.
“We infused research for development, a previously ignored area, with heavy funding to develop value-added products for export markets, particularly coconut and banana,” he added.
Dar disclosed a wish to have the Philippines’s budget for agriculture on a par with Asean neighbors.
“For instance Vietnam devotes 6.5 percent of its national budget to the agri-fishery sector, while Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia have invested 3.4, 3.6, and 2.3 percent, respectively,” he said.
“We in the Philippines only allot 1.6 percent of our national budget to the agriculture sector. Hence, we have a lot of catching up to do,” he added.