Budget to sustain agri growth–Loren

Sen. Loren Legarda said on Thursday that the 2018 budget law would sustain the 4.6-percent growth the agriculture sector posted in the first nine months of the year.

Legarda said the Department of Agriculture would have a budget of P110.75 billion—the seventh biggest allocation in the P3.7-trillion 2018 national budget—for the benefit of 11 million farmers and fisherfolk.

“The Philippines is an agriculture country. It is imperative for us to sustain progress in the agriculture sector and to ensure there is enough support to address the needs and concerns of our farmers and fisherfolk,” Legarda said in a statement.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the agriculture sector grew by 4.64 percent in the first nine months of this year due to the high production in the crops, livestock and poultry sector.

Gross value of production in agriculture was at P382.5 billion, a 6.27-percent increase from the previous year at current prices.

In next year’s budget, the government made the following allocations:

P20.2 billion for the national programs for rice, corn, high value crops development, organic agriculture and livestock;

P2.669 billion for the construction, restoration or improvement of small-scale irrigation projects and P4.281 billion for construction of facilities and procurement of machinery and equipment;

P9.958 billion for the construction, rehabilitation and repair of farm to market roads;

P395 million for the implementation of extension support education and training services of the national corn program; and

P1.05 billion under the Agro-Industry Modernization Credit and Financing Program Administration will be used for the establishment of a flexible credit facility for small farmers and fisherfolk.