The Department of Agriculture (DA) is finalizing a proposal that will substantially increase its budget for 2025.
In a consultative meeting with private agricultural groups, the DA presented a proposal that would more than double its expenditure plan for next year to P513.81 billion from the current budget of P208.58 billion.
The higher budget would fund activities that would modernize the farm and fisheries sectors for increased productivity and food security.
DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the budget proposal “is a work in progress but clearly shows the direction” where the agency is headed.
Tiu Laurel said with the higher budget, the DA can build more farm infrastructure, including irrigation and post-harvest facilities.
Tiu Laurel earlier said P93 billion is needed for the next few years for post-harvest facilities to reduce rice and corn wastage. Another P1.2 trillion would be required to irrigate an additional 1.2 million hectares to boost rice production and reduce importation.
The DA said its preliminary expenditure figures for next year showed bulk of the budget increase will go to attached corporations National Irrigation Administration, National Food Authority, Philippine Coconut Authority, Philippine Fisheries Development Authority and the National Dairy Authority.
The proposed combined budget for the eight DA attached corporations is P287.98 billion which is more than triple the total budget of P94.30 billion this year.
For the DA itself, the envisioned budget for 2025 is nearly double at P225.83 billion from P114.28 billion this year.
The DA said the higher budget would help empower various bureaus to modernize the fisheries and farm sectors as well as address food safety and anti-smuggling efforts.
The rice sub-sector will continue to account for the lion’s share of the budget proposal, with an allocation of P294.21 billion or 57 percent of the total outlay for next year followed by the fisheries sub-sector which will get P50.6 billion while locally-funded projects will be allotted P45.48 billion.
For the remaining sub-sectors, the proposed s budgets for next year are at P34.5 billion for cross-cutting programs; P32 billion for high value crops; P28.56 billion for livestock; P13.77 billion for foreign-assisted projects; P11.3 billion for corn; and P3.38 billion for credit programs.
