The next administration should triple the budget for agriculture to P300 billion starting 2017 to allow the sector to boost its output by at least 4 percent a year, a non-governmental organization said.
InangLupa Movement called on the next president to increase the budget for agriculture to “elevate” the state of the country’s farm sector.
“With a P300-billion budget, the government will not only sustain the gains of the rice and corn programs, but also elevate other programs for other crops to boost the country’s economy,” InangLupa President and Founder William Dar said.
Dar said the next administration should set its sights on growing farm output by an average of 4 percent a year.
“We should target a growth rate of 4 percent, which have been achieved earlier. [The sector] has even grown by 6.5 percent in the past. Investing more in agriculture will allow the sector to increase its contribution to GDP,” he said.
The agriculture sector used to account for 20 percent of the country’s GDP. In recent years, however, this figure has gone down to 10 percent.
Dar, who was a former secretary of the Department of Agriculture, said the agency could also use the money to develop more agri-industrial hubs, which will encourage the private sector to invest in food manufacturing
and processing.
He said these recommendations will be included in the group’s position paper, which will be submitted to the agriculture secretary of the next administration.
“[The position paper] is a complete road map that can still be strengthened, but the basics will be there. It’s about elevating Philippine agriculture.
The vision is very clear, a modern and industrialized agriculture,” Dar said.
He said the position paper will include the need to “level up” the country’s action plan against climate change. Dar also urged the government to take advantage of the public-private partnership scheme to construct critical farm infrastructure.
InangLupa also urged the next administration to invest more in agriculture research and development.
“We need to ensure the country’s food security. We should sustain efforts to maintain a 95-percent self-sufficiency in rice. If we hit 100 percent, then that’s a bonus. If we go beyond that, then we have a volume to set aside for the Asean food reserve,”
Dar said.
He said InangLupa will publish the policy document, including all the recommendations from other stakeholders. Dar said it will be available before the May elections and will be provided to all the presidentiables.