DA proposes P284-B budget for 2021

DA proposes P284-B budget for 2021 By Filane Mikee Cervantes

The Department of Agriculture (DA) is proposing a PHP284.4-billion budget for 2021, a nearly 256-percent increase from its current appropriations, to “sustain, reboot and grow” the country’s agriculture sector.

During the virtual hearing of the PHP79.9 billion budget. House committee on agriculture and food, Agriculture Secretary William Dar Of next year’s budget, PHP61.7 stressed the need to allocate more billion will be under Tier 1 while the Tier resources to agriculture to unlock its full 2 will cover the remaining PHP222.6 potentials in the Philippine economic billion. recovery and national development efforts. The agency’s proposed budget for next year will include PHP55.9 billion He said the agricultural sector for the rice sub-sector; PHP6.6 billion contributes around 10 percent of the for the corn sub-sector; PHP13.7 billion country’s gross domestic product (GDP) for the high-value crop; PHP11.2 billion but the share it gets from the national for livestock sector; PHP22.5 billion budget for the past 10 years is a measly for fisheries sector; PHP960 million for 3 to 5 percent of the total. organic agriculture and PHP3 billion for other support programs. “The budget is intended to sustain, reboot, and grow the agriculture and Dar assured the public that the fisheries sector amid the challenges supply of agricultural commodities brought by the pandemic,” Dar said. in the country is adequate amid the coronavirus pandemic. “We seek your highest approval of our budget proposal for the coming “We, in the Department of year. What lies in your hands right now Agriculture, are working 24/7 to ensure is the food security and resiliency of the that food is available, affordable, and country, the future of the 109 million sufficient on the table of every Filipino Filipinos, and counting,” he added. household under the situation we are in. We see these difficult situations as DA’s 2021 budget proposal of golden opportunities to strengthen the PHP284.4 billion is PHP204.5 billion underpinnings of Philippine agriculture,” higher than the current year budget of he said. (PNA) 54