Farm groups have appealed to Congress to allocate more funds for fuel and production subsidies from the proposed P102- billion budget of the Department of Agriculture (DA) for next year.
Rice watch group Bantay Bigas renewed its call for the provision of a P15,000 production subsidy for farmers and fisherfolk to ease the burden of farmers and fishers from rising cost of production and to boost local food production.
Cathy Estavillo, the group’s spokesperson, issued the appeal in a statement yesterday at the House Committee on Appropriations’ deliberations on the DA’s proposed budget.
Estavillo said the current fertilizer discount voucher program of the DA provides P1,131 per hectare for areas planted with inbred seeds and P2,262 per hectare for hybrid whereas a hectare of land needs at least 6 bags of fertilizers.
Estavillo said based on the recent monitoring of the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority, a bag of urea fertilizer costs P2,762.86.
The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) made a similar call, saying a “significant and tangible” aid is necessary to bolster local food production during this period of worsening inflation and food crisis.
The group said programs and policies in agriculture must include a national land-use plan that supports genuine land reform and prioritization of local food production over imports.
Rafael Mariano, KMP chairman emeritus, in a statement also questioned the budget cuts in DA: P211 million for irrigation network service; P1.2 billion for agricultural equipment and facilities on the National Rice Program and; P82 million for the extension support, education and training services budget for the National Livestock Program.
KMP questioned some of funding allocations at the DA such as the Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) program.
“SAAD is a locally-funded DA program that intends to help alleviate poverty among marginalized agriculture and fishing areas in 30 priority provinces… Technically, this budget for SAAD is a budget for counterinsurgency under the guise of social and economic interventions such as social preparation, production and livelihood, marketing assistance and enterprise development. We want to know, how in reality, SAAD aids in poverty alleviation of farmers and fishers when the most basic issues in rural communities are not being addressed,” Mariano said.
KMP also criticized the DA for giving funding preference for the construction, repair and rehabilitation of farm-to-market roads (FMR) in key production areas in known Marcos territories in the regions of Ilocos and Eastern Visayas.
Mariano said from a P7.5- billion budget, FMR budget will increase to P13.1 billion. Of which, some P1.86 billion will go to Ilocos and P1.41 billion for Eastern Visayas with majority of the projects in the provinces of Ilocos Norte and Leyte.
KMP identified more than 100 FMR projects in Ilocos Norte and Leyte provinces alone, mostly concreting of barangay roads with each project ranging from P12 million to P30 million.
Fishers’ group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) said the DA’s proposed P489.6 million allocation for fuel assistance to fisherfolk for next year is not enough.
The fishers’ group said that its proposed appropriated P15, 000 production subsidy will only cover 32,600 out of the two million registered fisherfolk nationwide from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources’ fuel assistance.
“No one is exempted from the oil price increases, so we are calling for the department to increase the budget for fuel assistance and other stimulus programs to boost agriculture and fisheries production,” said Fernando Hicap, Pamalakaya national chairperson, in a statement.
The group said the budget for other programs “irrelevant” to the development of municipal fisheries should be re-channeled to livelihood and subsidy for small fishers.
Pamalakaya said the decline in the production of the country’s fisheries sector is mainly due to the effects of expensive fuel that forces small fishers to cut their fishing operations.
