The Department of Agriculture (DA) urged lawmakers to pass a measure that will ensure funding for the government’s farm-to-market (FMR) infrastructure program after the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) slashed the budget for it by more than half.
During a hearing on the DA’s budget for 2022, Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar was asked by lawmakers why the budget for FMR was cut by 57.7 percent to P4.98 billion.
Lawmakers present during the House Committee of Appropriations meeting also noted that the allocation for the FMR program for next year was just 6.97 percent of the DA’s proposed budget of P71.438 billion.
The budget for the FMR program this year under the General Appropriations Act (GAA) is P11.719 billion.
Dar told lawmakers that the budget for the FMR was reduced due to the Mandanas-Garcia ruling, which will take effect in the next fiscal year.
“The budget given by the DBM under the NEP [National Expenditure Program] for FMR [in 2022] is P4.9 billion. Our view on that is that the other budget was transferred to the local government units [LGUs]; that’s our understanding,” he said during Wednesday’s hearing.
Dar’s response led to questions related to the capacity and capability of LGUs to handle and continue the FMR program. The agriculture chief said he is not sure if the LGUs are ready to implement it.
Because of this, Dar sought the support of lawmakers to restore the slashed FMR fund lodged in the DA’s budget.
“We propose a better approach which is to legislate the FMR program. This is the suggestion of the DA to sustain the funding for the FMR which will enhance countryside development,” he said.
Last year, Dar said the DA wants to construct more FMRs to spur economic activity, particularly farm production. The DA allocated P5 billion for construction of more FMRs out of its P24-billion Bayanihan budget.
The President’s economic team considers FMRs as “game changers” for the agriculture sector, despite not having any FMRs in the list of the government’s flagship projects, the National Economic and Development Authority said in 2019.
Under Chapter 8 of the Public Investment Program (PIP) 2017-2022, the government will spend P682.39 billion for projects that seek to expand economic opportunities in agriculture, forestry and fisheries.
The construction and rehabilitation of FMRs, the PIP stated, will improve the transport of agricultural products and increase in job opportunity for local farmers.