Group wants 10% LGU IRA allotted for food security

MANILA, Philippines — A coalition of agriculture groups is urging President Duterte to issue an executive order (EO) mandating local government units (LGUS) to use 10 percent of their internal revenue allotment (IRA) for food secuirty programs to ensure the long-term growth of the agriculture sector.

In virtual press briefing by the Agri-Fisheries Alliance (AFA), Philippine Agriculture and Food, Inc. (PCAFI) president Danilo Fausto said the mandatory 10 percent allocation of the IRA of LGUs to food security efforts would mitigate the effect of any reduction in the resources of the Department of Agriculture (DA) that may be brought about by the implementation of the Mandanas-Garcia ruling next year.

The said Supreme Court ruling results in a 27.61 percent increase in the IRA allocation of LGUs from the national budget or around P234.39 billion.

“To create fiscal space, it is expected that some of the projects of the national agencies will be un-funded,” Fausto said.

“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 be further aggravated,” he said.

With the proposed 10 percent IRA for food security Fausto said, it should be the task of the LGUs, in coordination with DA, to provide farm extension services to trickle down efficient production techniques and technology in food production and diversification.

“Community organizing should be done in collaboration with the CDA (Cooperative Development Auhtority), LGUs, and DA, to put into reality the consolidation of small farm holdings lands for efficient production and economies of scale,” he said.

Fausto highlighted the government’s low budget allocation for the DA despite the agriculture sector’s large contribution to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

He cited that for this year, the DA’s budget of P66.4 billion is only 1.5 percent of the national budget of P4.506 trillion, despite the sector’s 10 percent contribution to the GDP in 2020.

Apart from the unfair budget allocation for the sector, Fausto criticized the government’s bias towards consumers over producers, as seen in recent policies of the government to allow pork imports to address supply shortage.

“The problem there is that there is a disconnect between the producers and consumers,”Fausto said.

“We submit that the disparity should be properly balanced to protect not only the interest of the consumers, but also that of the producers as well in order to ensure long-term sustainanability of food production,” he said.

The PCAFI official cited the case of India which was highly dependent on food imports in the 1960s to 1970s, but is now one of the world’s largest producer of food grains after it focused on local production.

Aside from the low prioritization of the agriculture sector, Fausto also pointed out the lack of long-term planning of the DA, as each administration only focuses on their respective terms.

Fausto said that majority of the banner programs of DA have roadmaps, citing that the agency does not have strategic planning, goal setting, and action plans.

“We are putting our hope that those who are thinking to run as national leaders, we hope that they will change the way things are done for the growth of the farming sector,” he said.

“We are looking forward to a long-term plan for every banner program of government not only for their term,” he said.