Solon seeks a minimum 10% increase in the 2022 agriculture budget

Albay Representative Joey Salceda on Saturday said he will push for at least a 10% increase in the agricultural budget in the 2022 General Appropriations Act.

In a statement, Salceda said he met with Agriculture Secretary William Dar on the possible increase to help the agriculture sector resolve price worries and drive economic recovery.

"I think we can go at least 10% additional funding. We probably need more, and I'll try to deliver more," Salceda said.

The House Ways and Means chair said he had three observations.

“First, prices will go up as the lag-effects of low interest begin to show. The only way to mitigate that is an increase in the stability and volume of food supply,” he said.

“Second… I am seeing signs of a financial bubble in Southeast Asia. You need something of a ‘sponge’ that will suck up excess financial capital. The most undercapitalized industrial sector in the Philippines is the agriculture sector,” he added.

Salceda also stressed that the country had many self-imposed restrictions on land size, efficiency, use, and ownership.

“If we can ease some of those restrictions while investing in its development, we can really boost output, far beyond the 2% per year sector growth targeted by the Department of Agriculture,” he said.

Under the 2021 national budget, agriculture was allocated P71 billion.

“The agriculture budget is still much smaller than it should be. It’s a sector with 8% output and 22% of the employed force, but just less than 2% of direct public expenditures,” Salceda said.

“The asymmetry in spending is obvious, as I discussed with Secretary Dar. And I promised him we will take a hard look at the budget and see where we can adjust upwards,” he added. — DVM, GMA News