Tags: Agribusiness
By Alexander Villafania
QUEZON CITY, METRO MANILA – The Department of Agriculture (DA) is set to spend the majority of its P61.7 billion budget for 2012 to implement the Food Staples Sufficiency Program (FSSP) in an effort to ensure food security in the Philippines until 2013.
DA Secretary Proceso Alcala said they hope to attain sufficiency in several types of staple agricultural products, particularly rice, white corn, cassava, among others.
The FSSP focuses on investments in agricultural infrastructures such as irrigation, farm-to-market roads (FMRs), and post-harvesting facilities. For instance, the DA will work with the National Irrigation Administration to construct new irrigation systems, and rehabilitate or upgrade existing ones.
Likewise, the DA’s Bureau of Soils and Water Management will spend P500 million for the construction of 4,584 small-scale irrigation projects. Among these are at least 1,200 shallow tube wells, 75 small water reservoirs, 56 small water impounding projects, and 3,130 spring developments.
The DA will spend P11.28 billion for post-harvest infrastructure such as drying, storing, and processing facilities.
The agency will also put some P11.35 billion for commodity crops; P6.2 billion will be spent for rice development, P951 million for corn, and P1.3 billion for other high-value crops. At least P2.9 billion will be spent for livestock and fishing industries.
Another P5 billion will be used to build farm-to-market roads equivalent to 1,284 kilometers. Some of the budget will be acquired through foreign government assistance and private partnerships.
“We have redesigned FMRs so that at least 50% of the budget goes to concreting critical road sections. This would ensure that the roads do not disappear after a flood. We want to make sure that we do not only build roads and dams. We should build them better.”
“Monitor them more closely, and ensure that they serve the purpose for which they were built,” Alcala said.
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