ANGARA CALLS FOR GREATER AGRICULTURAL AID TO DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

Senator Edgardo J. Angara, chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food, called on multilateral agencies and developed countries to help developing countries in taking full advantage of the multilateral trading system by reducing trade barriers and by investing heavily in agriculture.

Speaking at the 16th Session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development in New York City, Angara stressed that agriculture is the most vital instrument for poverty reduction since over three-fourths of the world's poor live in rural areas in developing countries.

Angara noted that a major constraint to increasing agricultural production is insufficient agricultural funding. Providing infrastructure, post-harvest facilities and research and extension services to farmers demand continued investment, he stressed.

"Unfortunately, international institutions and national governments alike have been under-investing in agriculture. The share of agriculture in Official Development Assistance (ODA) has been declining for the past two decades, falling from to 18 per cent in 1979 to 3.5 per cent in 200412," he cited.

He further suggested that developed countries and multilateral agencies countries such as the UN and the World Bank shall focus their development agenda on agriculture and rural development by providing market access to developing countries and by eliminating subsidies and other trade-distorting barriers.

Citing the Mindanao Rural Development Project (MRDP) as a model for rural investment, Angara proudly said that the MRDP is a success story of successful collaboration between international institutions and Local Government Units (LGUs).

The MRDP is a poverty reduction program implemented during Angara's term as Agriculture Secretary in 1999. "With the help of World Bank and LGUs, we successfully implemented this $40.5 million project aimed at increasing agricultural production and providing sustainable rural development through rural infrastructure, livelihood projects, environmental conservation and governance reform components in five Mindanao provinces."

Angara said the project's outcomes are wide-ranging. "As a result of the rehabilitation and construction of local infrastructure such as farm-to-market roads and irrigations, the overall rice and corn cropping intensity increased from 198 per cent to 214 per cent."

"With improved communal irrigation systems, average production per farm increased by 86 per cent (wet season) and by 76 per cent (dry season). Equally important, these infrastructure facilities enabled beneficiaries to transport to town a higher quantity of produce at lesser time. Travel time was reduced by an average of 15 minutes," he added.

Angara ended his speech by echoing the sentiments of many developing countries that sustainable development can only be achieved through equal trade policies and sound investment in agriculture and rural development.