Department of Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol said that President Duterte wants to increase budget of DA from 50 billion to 500 billion in 2020 in order to secure food supply.
Moreover, the president instructed the secretary during their cabinet meeting on Monday, to submit a budget proposal for 2020 that will amount to 500 billion.
On the report from Business Mirror, “Piñol noted that Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III would be instructed to give the DA the budget it needs to boost the country’s food production”.
The increase budget of DA seeks to provide more financial support for farmers and fisherfolk to increase yields that will feed the growing population.
Accordingly, the president noticed the declining portion of the budget of DA over the last 2 years. Based on the statement of secretary Piñol to Business Mirror, the president would like to boost the support for agriculture sector to maximize its potential in meeting the increasing demand for food.
Notably, “the DA had proposed a budget of P200 billion for 2018 but the agency was given only P56 billion. For this year, the DA made a pitch for an allocation of P120 billion, but it received only P49.9 billion”.
DA’s budgetary proposals are deemed to be adjusted due to the pronouncement made by President Duterte. Proposals should focused on achieving the targets of the agency.
More importantly, the president emphasized to put more priority for improving agriculture infrastructure especially, farm-to-market roads. Thus, farmers and fisherfolks can potentially increase their access to the market.
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