Gov’t sets aside P86.1B for Agri Dev’t Program

MANILA, Philippines - The Aquino administration has earmarked P86.1 billion for the Agricultural Development Program, designed to ensure food security and further improve self-sufficiency.

According to the Department of Budget and Management, the P86.1 billion budget would be used to beef up rice production and for irrigation, buffer stocking and research and development (R&D).

A big chunk of the funds or P26 billion has been set aside for agriculture infrastructure, focusing on the top 33 rice-producing provinces which will cover 20,650 hectares with new irrigation and drainage areas. 

The government will also restore existing ones in 23,200 hectares in line with its goal to produce 4.48 metric tons of rice per hectare.

About P14.5 billion has been allotted for R&D extension and credit services and the construction of farm-to-market roads.

Around P6.02 billion has been budgeted for the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, 28 percent higher than the P4.92 billion programmed this year.  This will mainly provide for the construction of 252 fish landings.

The Philippine Coconut Authority will get P4.09 billion or 72 percent more than the 2014 budget.  The amount will go to the construction of farm-to-market roads, coconut planting and replanting, eradication and control of pests and development of coconut enterprise sites and coco agro-industrial hubs.

By 2016, the government aims to boost the productivity of the agriculture and fisheries sector to 3.5 percent to 4.5 percent in gross value added, improving the lives of 1.685 million farmers and 346,345 fisherfolk.

The agriculture and fisheries sector plays an important role in the country’s development and improvement of Filipinos’ living conditions.

Agriculture has yet to achieve and sustain a level of growth that will allow structural transformation or the shift of labor from low-productivity areas to high-productivity areas.

From 2011 to 2012, the agriculture and fisheries sector accounted for an average of 11.2 percent of the total gross domestic product (GDP).

While posting positive annual growth of 2.6 percent and 2.8 percent in 2011 and 2012, respectively, the sector’s performance remained below the target of 4.3 to 5.3 percent annual growth.

Crops (palay, corn, coconut including copra, sugarcane, banana, mango, pineapple, coffee, cassava, rubber, other crops), livestock and poultry remain the growth drivers, accounting for about 74 percent of the sector.

The sector generated $5.195 billion in exports revenue, representing an average annual growth rate of 12 percent. Top agriculture exports include coco oil, banana, tuna, pineapple, desiccated coconut, seaweeds, tobacco and centrifugal sugar.