Press Release
February 26, 2007

ANGARA BATS FOR ADEQUATE FUNDING FOR AFMA

Senator Edgardo J. Angara today disclosed that agricultural modernization funds were P44 billion short from 1999 to 2005 as the sector struggled with lethargic growth, massive imports and a harsh agricultural trading environment that favored those heavily subsidized and heavily protected.

Angara said that the modernization funds released from 1999 to 2005 totaled P77.963 billion as against the prescribed budget of P122 billion . The prescribed budget was based on the mandate of the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act., which passage was a landmark legislative work of Angara in 1998.

The AFMA as a modernization blueprint for the agricultural sector was a combination of sound programs and adequate funding. The lack of funding support derailed what could have been the successful modernization of Philippine agriculture, said Angara , whose term as agriculture secretary was marked by the implementation of breakthrough agricultural programs.

Angara said that the AFMA required government to spent P20 billion for modernization programs in 1999, the start of its implementation, and at least P17 billion for every year thereafter .

The funds, which shall be allocated on top of the regular budget of the Department of Agriculture (DA) , would be invested in irrigation and other agri infra, post-harvest facilities, research and development, credit facilitation, market development, production support services, information support services and extension, education and training.

Of these, only investments in irrigation services and post-harvest facilities did meet the funding level set by AFMA while the rest of the vital concerns suffered from under-funding, said Angara.

Angara said that the failure to modernize agriculture is at the root of the massive poverty in the Philippine rural areas as poverty has a distinct rural face.

Most Filipinos still live off agriculture and we are still a country of farmers, despite the giant strides in technology and the emergence of an information society. Developing and modernizing agriculture remains the key strategy to fighting massive poverty, said Angara .

Angara said that except for a small improvement in the AFMA funding in year 2000, total funds obligated fell short of the prescribed budget under the law year after year.

Angara said that the funds released for research and development, which he said is most cost-effective agricultural investment , have been consistently lower than the funding level prescribed and this squandered the opportunity to develop world-class animal and plant genetics.

Angara said that there were years when the funding for AFMA was 50 per cent or more short than the prescribed budget.

Angara said that the failure to fund AFMA adequately has turned the Philippines into a nation of importers.

For example, Angara said, rice imports have averaged more than one million metric tons per year over the past ten years .

We have been importing tropical fruits, 80 per cent of our dairy needs, even vegetables which we used to produce in abundance. We import soy sauce and fish sauce, pork and beef. Our farmers have lost their competitive edge said Angara .

Angara said that the neglect of Philippine agriculture has been taking place while most countries in the world have been propping up their farming sectors through production and export subsidies.

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