|
THE
Department of Agriculture (DA) will ask the national
government for a budget of P31.7 billion for next year
in its bid to ensure that it will be able to increase
farm production by 7 percent to 8 percent in 2008.
Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said the P31.7
billion, up from P19.5 billion this year, will boost his
department’s efforts to create more jobs, mitigate
hunger and invest more in rural infrastructure—including
the massive repair and rehabilitation of irrigation
facilities to boost harvests and investments in modern
post-harvest facilities to reduce the losses incurred by
farmers.
“A
consensus on a higher 2008 budget plan was reached so
the DA can adequately bankroll the productivity and
export initiatives we have drawn,” said Yap.
Of the
P31.7 billion, the DA said P4 billion will be used to
repair irrigation canals that will provide water to as
much as 100,000 hectares of farm lands.
The DA
has been targeting to rehabilitate irrigation facilities
that service more than 300,000 hectares up to 2010 in its
bid to boost its rice self-sufficiency program. The
repair and rehabilitation of irrigation facilities all
over the country requires P22 billion.
Yap said
the DA will be spending P2 billion to set up 3,000
biomass devices in rice- and corn-producing areas next
year. This is to reduce wastages and postharvest losses
that cut the production of farmers by as much as 20
percent.
The DA
would also build 20 corn-drying and processing centers
which cost P20 million for each 500-hectare farm
cluster.
To
preserve the quality of vegetable harvests, he said P1
billion is needed in 2008 to build tram lines through
mountain passes, along with cold chain storage
facilities in production areas and bagsakan or drop-off
centers.
Another
P1 billion will be used to build hatcheries and
aquaculture grow-out zones for fishing communities to
ensure that the fisheries sector would grow by 10
percent next year.
Yap said
P1 billion is also needed for programs to boost the
production of dairy products, white corn, vegetables,
and chicken eggs. The construction of farm-to-market
roads that would boost biofuels production especially in
the countryside would require another P1 billion.
The
Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act (AFMA)
mandates the allocation of P17 billion each year to
supplement the regular DA budget of P14 billion each
year.
In 2006,
the DA was allocated a budget of P15.6 billion including
the additional funds from AFMA. For this year, the DA
was given a budget of P19.5 billion. |
