Food security advocacy group Tugon Kabuhayan joined the call for local government units (LGUs) to allocate at least 10 percent of their budget starting next year for food production programs and post-harvest investments to improve farmers’ income.
In its fortnightly virtual news briefing, the group said 10 percent or about P23.4 billion of the additional P234.6 billion funds of the LGUs next year due to the Mandanas ruling shall be allocated for improving local food systems.
The group pointed out that 60 percent of the allocation or about P14.04 billion should be invested in post-harvest infrastructure to cut the country’s high food wastage level while the remaining fund could be used to bankroll productivity enhancement programs.
“We suggest that 10 percent of the funds or P23.4 billion be allocated for this annually, especially in the countryside where most production is happening. The allocation can be adjusted once LGUs reach the desired production and post-harvest losses targets,” the group said.
The group explained that increased production coupled with lower post-harvest losses would not only hike farmers’ income but also provide sufficient, nutritious and affordable food to consumers.
The group added that higher investment is required in post-harvest infrastructure such as vehicles, farm-to-market roads, cold storage, ice boxes, since this is one of the least performing segments of the country’s agriculture value chain.
“In the case of fish, the group estimated that 25 percent of fish is lost in the supply chain and the biggest loss transpires in the retail market. Physical loss happens because of inadequate handling methods, as well as limited access to ice, cold storage and appropriate transport such as reefer vans,” it said.
“If we can reduce our losses to 10 percent from 25 percent, the total volume of fish saved is 660,000 metric tons with an estimated value of over P41 billion,” it added.
Last month, the Agriculture and Fisheries Alliance (AFA) pitched the same proposal, urging LGUs to allocate at least 10 percent of their internal revenue allotment (IRA) for food security-related programs starting next year following a hike in their share from the national revenue due to Mandanas ruling.
The proposal was floated after certain groups such as the Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc. (PCAFI) cautioned that the Department of Agriculture (DA) may face budget cuts next year since the government will be implementing the Mandanas ruling, which hikes LGU’s IRA by 27.6 percent. PCAFI is a convener of the AFA.
PCAFI President Danilo V. Fausto noted that with the increase in LGU’s IRA, which is expected to reach over P1 trillion next year, the national government would be forced to “create fiscal space” but unfunding some projects.
“With the policy of the current administration giving low priority to agriculture, we can project that the unfair allocation of the national budget to DA will further aggravate,” he said.
“It should be mandatory for the LGU to set aside 10 percent of their IRA budget for food security. This will mitigate the effect of any reduction in the resources of the DA and help develop the agriculture sector,” he added.