Local government units (LGUs) should prioritize production support and post-harvest investments in agriculture and fisheries once they get access to as much as P234 billion in additional revenue allotment with the full implementation starting next year of the Mandanas ruling, according to food advocacy group Tugon Kabuhayan.
The Mandanas ruling of the Supreme Court provides that the share from the internal revenue allotment of LGUs does not exclude other national taxes like customs duties which will boost their funds.
Tugon Kabuhayan said at least 10 percent of the funds or P23.4 billion must be allocated annually to these initiatives.
“For a long time, we focused on production which is good but this time, aside from production support, let us also resolve our post-harvest losses since this (problem) is derailing our production,” said Asis Perez, Tugon Kabuhayan convenor.
In a virtual briefing yesterday, Perez said about 25 percent of the total fish production in the country is lost in the supply chain due to inadequate handling methods as well as limited access to ice, cold storage and appropriate transport such as reefer vans.
“If we can reduce our losses to 10 percent from 25 percent, the total volume of fish saved is 660,000 metric tons with an estimated value of over P41 billion,” Perez said.
The group said LGUs must consider post-harvest infrastructure as investments so they can generate income and become professionally operated and properly maintained.
The group said the Department of Agriculture (DA) must also be proactive and make public their plans and blueprints to avoid repetition of legwork and incurring additional fees.
Norbert Chingcuanco, group co-convenor, said without the DA’s intervention, LGUs will be forced to hire their own consultants and will start from scratch.
“The idea is to urge the DA to form the best of the best of plans to be made available for the public domain…plans to build the proper plant, facility, floor plan, mechanical plan and specs so that LGUs will also save time… It will create coordination and a national standard,” Chingcuanco said.
The group added that urbanized LGUs which are set to get higher allocation must also form partnerships with agricultural LGUs to create a direct value chain and food security.
