In line with the National Budget Memorandum (NBM) 109 of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the NAF Council and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) consultation on the Department of Agriculture's (DA) 2012 Budget was held on April 12, 2011 at the BSWM Conference Hall, BSWM Building.
DA officials, led by Secretary Proceso J. Alcala, gathered inputs from the NAF Council private and government sectoral members and CSOs with budget partnership agreement with the DA regarding budget allocations and agriculture programs and projects that should be pursued for 2012.
Segfredo R. Serrano, Undersecretary for Policy, Planning, Research & Development, started off by presenting the DA’s Thrusts and Priorities under the Aquino administration. In accentuating food security, Usec. Serrano said that under the leadership of Secretary Alcala, emphasis will be on approaches that would have to be anchored on something more solid than production and technology.
Aside from plans for rice self-sufficiency, thrusts for the sectors of livestock, poultry, corn and fisheries were also laid out. These include improving genetic material; animal health program; establishment of meat trading centers; promoting poultry products; promotion of white corn cassava and other staple food crops such as sweet potato and saba to ease the demand for rice; maintenance, operation, and expansion of existing mariculture parks and optimizing its productivity by promoting polyculture.
Meanwhile, as the DA food security program dictates that irrigation is a major public investment, Usec. Serrano said the priority for irrigation shall be on rehabilitation, repair and restoration or maintenance of existing systems. Small water impounding systems and smaller types of systems that are easier to construct and put into operation will also be done.
More durable market access infrastructure like farm-to-market roads, fish ports, post-harvest facilities and equipment shall also form part of DA’s public investments.
In dealing with climate change, Usec. Serrano said that the DA is trying to develop its capacities on risk assessment and disaster management through the use of remote sensing, Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) technologies to be able to establish a climate risk information system.
He added that the DA wants to be able to put even greater investments in equipment and infrastructure like irrigation works that will harvest rainwater, farm mechanization warehouses, storage facilities, and other equipment.
Meanwhile, Antonio A. Fleta, Undersecretary for Administration and Finance of the Department of Agriculture, proceeded to present the DA’s budget share for the year 2012.
Segfredo R. Serrano, Undersecretary for Policy, Planning, Research & Development, started off by presenting the DA’s Thrusts and Priorities under the Aquino administration. In accentuating food security, Usec. Serrano said that under the leadership of Secretary Alcala, emphasis will be on approaches that would have to be anchored on something more solid than production and technology.
Aside from plans for rice self-sufficiency, thrusts for the sectors of livestock, poultry, corn and fisheries were also laid out. These include improving genetic material; animal health program; establishment of meat trading centers; promoting poultry products; promotion of white corn cassava and other staple food crops such as sweet potato and saba to ease the demand for rice; maintenance, operation, and expansion of existing mariculture parks and optimizing its productivity by promoting polyculture.
Meanwhile, as the DA food security program dictates that irrigation is a major public investment, Usec. Serrano said the priority for irrigation shall be on rehabilitation, repair and restoration or maintenance of existing systems. Small water impounding systems and smaller types of systems that are easier to construct and put into operation will also be done.
More durable market access infrastructure like farm-to-market roads, fish ports, post-harvest facilities and equipment shall also form part of DA’s public investments.
In dealing with climate change, Usec. Serrano said that the DA is trying to develop its capacities on risk assessment and disaster management through the use of remote sensing, Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) technologies to be able to establish a climate risk information system.
He added that the DA wants to be able to put even greater investments in equipment and infrastructure like irrigation works that will harvest rainwater, farm mechanization warehouses, storage facilities, and other equipment.
Meanwhile, Antonio A. Fleta, Undersecretary for Administration and Finance of the Department of Agriculture, proceeded to present the DA’s budget share for the year 2012.
During the presentation, Usec. Fleta disclosed that the average percentage share of the DA in the national budget for the last ten years is 2.7 percent. Despite this, however, Usec. Fleta said that the DA contributed 16.8 % in terms of to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2010.
For 2012, Usec. Fleta noted that the percentage of the DA’s share in the national budget increased to a little less than five percent which amounts to P83.44 billion.
“Under the six-year development program of the DA, the budget will be front-loaded in the next two years so that it can already achieve the targets especially in irrigation,” he explained.
Usec. Fleta then presented the allocated budget in 2011 in comparison with the proposed budget for 2012 in the components of support services like production support, market development, credit facilitation, irrigation, postharvest and infrastructure, extension support, research and development, and information support.
Usec. Fleta also discussed the budget for the DA’s banner programs on rice, corn, high value crops, livestock and fisheries. For rice, the DA proposed a total of P49.5 billion for 2012 compared to the P19.6 billion share in 2011. Under the rice program, P10 billion will be for national rice, P30 billion for irrigation and P9.5 billion for farm-to-market roads.
For the corn program, a sum of P1 billion is proposed while there will be P2 billion for high value crops. For livestock program, there will be P2.4 billion allotment while P3.05 billion is proposed for fisheries for next year.
Other allocations were also pointed out by Usec. Fleta which include other programs (P8.9 billion), regular fund under the Office of the Secretary (P4.3 billion), and attached agencies (P4.8 billion).
During the open forum, DA officials took note of the important points, suggestions, concerns and comments raised by different parties.
Another meeting was set to further discuss the details on the budget as suggested by Mr. Ernesto Ordoñez, chairperson of Alyansa Agrikultura, who also thanked Sec. Alcala for conducting the NAF Council Meeting/CSO Consultation once again after more than two years and further proposed for the formation of a sectoral committee on budget that will help the department in lobbying for higher budget allocations.
Representatives of the different organizations present in the meeting also inquired about the various aspects in the budget allocations for sectors like high value crops and irrigation system; the status of other projects concerning their areas; monitoring activities; and, others which Sec. Alcala and fellow DA officials answered to the best of their knowledge.
Recommendations from CODE-NGO, as represented by Raul Banzuela of Pambansang Kilusan ng mga Samahang Magsasaka (PAKISAMA), were also discussed at the forum. Mr. Banzuela enumerated the six recommendations, as follows: that they be provided with a breakdown of the commodity program budgets by region and by type of production support; the need to gain the support of farmers for the DA’s plan of gradually shifting production support for farmers away from input subsidies towards investments in public goods; that DA clarifies how its programs are geared towards the needs of agrarian reform beneficiaries, small famers and fisher folks; and, ensure that the fisheries program benefits small and municipal fisher folks.
Given the suggestions and comments that have been propounded in the meeting, DA officials gratefully drew the concurrence of the members of the council to submit the proposed 2012 budget to the DBM—subject to further amendments and as a result of any further consultations with stakeholders.
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