The Department of Agriculture (DA) said it will propose a budget of P83.67 billion for 2017, which will include its support to government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs).
The 2017 budget being sought by the DA is 55.01 percent higher than the P53.97 billion allocated to the agency for this year.
According to data provided by the DA Planning and Programming Division, the proposed 2017 budget includes an allocation of P8.24 billion for GOCCs.
Of the P75.42 billion allocated for DA programs, more than half, or P43.12 billion, will be set aside for capital outlays, while maintenance and operating expenses for 2017 will require a budget of P36.06 billion.
The DA said it will increase investments in rural infrastructure and logistics. The proposed budget for farm-to-market roads jumped by 160 percent to P19.20 billion from P7.38 billion in 2016, while provisions for the Philippine Rural Development Program will increase by 5.79 percent to P9.59 billion.
For the rice sector, the DA said it will prioritize “targeted support” for farmers in anticipation of the possible removal of the quantitative restriction on
rice in 2017.
Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala said the government wants to increase paddy-rice output to 20 million metric tons (MMT) in 2017. To do this, the DA has proposed a budget of P9.06 billion for the National Rice Program. The amount is 28.3 percent bigger than the P7.06 billion allotted for the program this year.
The agency’s proposed budget for the National Fisheries Program in 2017, at P6.12 billion, is 37.14 percent higher than the P4.46 billion allocated for it this year.
Proposed appropriations for the National Corn Program reached P2.79 billion, 23.99 percent higher than the 2016 allocation of P2.25 billion. The DA is also seeking to increase the budget for the National High-Value Crops Program by 25.86 percent to P3.67 billion.
The livestock sector, which Alcala earlier described as one of the drivers of agricultural growth, could get P2.46 billion through the National Livestock Program in 2017. This is more than double the P1.17 billion provided to the program this year.
The proposed budget of P852.60 million for the DA’s Organic Agriculture Program in 2017 is also higher than the P635 million allocated to it this year.
