The Department of Agriculture (DA) is appealing to Congress to pass a P176.7 billion budget next year for the agency to deliver long-delayed investments in the country’s farm and fisheries sector.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. made the pitch on Monday at the House Committee on Appropriations, stressing the chronic neglect of an industry that employs one in five Filipino workers.
“Our farmers and fisherfolk remain among the most vulnerable in our society. Despite their unmatched effort, many still harvest hope more than profit. Many cast their nets with uncertainty rather than security,” he said.
The proposed allocation is 13.6 percent higher than this year’s P155.6 billion. It is anchored on five priorities: raising productivity, expanding irrigation, distributing quality seeds and fertilizer, and adopting science-based practices.
Tiu Laurel said funds would also modernize operations through machinery, post-harvest facilities, and digital tools; strengthen value chains with logistics, cold storage, and farm-to-market roads; and widen market access via Kadiwa ng Pangulo stalls and the “Rice for All” program.
Tiu Laurel stressed that roughly 10 million workers in agriculture and fisheries still live in poverty, hampered by limited access to markets, credit, and technology.
“It is high time we matched the sector’s significant economic contribution with crucial and meaningful investments,” he said.
He urged lawmakers to act swiftly, framing the budget not just as sectoral support but as a guarantee of food security.
“Let’s build a future where the child of a farmer no longer dreams of leaving the farm—but of improving it; where the next generation sees hope, not hardship, in the soil and the sea,” he said.
