Despite the double-digit cut in its allocation for 2019, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said it remains confident that it would be able to achieve its production targets for next year.
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol also said the removal of “nonessential” programs would free up resources that could be used for the more important initiatives of the department.
“Yes, I am confident,” Piñol told the BusinessMirror in an interview last week when asked if he is confident that the allocation received by the DA would enable the agency to help boost farm sector performance next year.
“We have made very drastic reforms on the way we will use our budget. We will do away with the nonessential programs that have been in the budget line for so long, such as the distribution of wheelbarrows,” he added.
Under the national expenditure program for 2019, the DA received an allocation of P49.804 billion, 10.54 percent lower than its budget of P55.671 billion for this year.
Documents provided by the DA during a budget hearing at the House of Representatives showed that the agency is spending at least P10.507 billion for the rice industry.
The agency is targeting to grow unmilled rice production by 3.07 percent to 20.47 million metric tons, from the estimated 19.86 MMT output this year.
One of the DA’s strategies to boost rice output next year is to hike average yield to 4.28 metric ton (MT) per hectare, from this year’s 4.14 MT per hectare.
Documents also showed that the DA allocated P2.548 billion to increase output by 4.81 percent to 8.861 MMT next year, from the projected production of 8.454 MMT this year.
To help boost local livestock and poultry production, the DA will spend at least P3.81 billion next year. The agency is aiming to hike hog output to 2.185 MMT, 1.3 percent higher than this year’s projected output of 2.157 MMT.
For chicken production, the DA is seeking to expand it by 2.9 percent to 1.845 MMT in 2019, from the target output of 1.793 MMT this year. The DA also aims to produce 81 MT of goats, 25 MT of dairy and 499 MT of chicken eggs.
Documents also showed that the DA would spend P4.663 billion to improve high-value crops yield next year. For banana, the DA’s target yield is 22.9 MT per hectare; mango, 5.18 MT per hectare; and pineapple, 42.75 MT per hectare.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that the farm sector’s gross output expanded by 3.95 percent
year-on-year in 2017.
The crops subsector, which accounted for half of farm production last year, recorded a 6.69-percent hike in output.