The agriculture sector has always been a priority for the Philippine government given the role it plays in the economy. At the start of his term, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. — who had promised to lower rice prices to P20 per kilo as a candidate — even assumed the portfolio as the country grappled with rising inflation.
Rice prices may still be far off from the promise but his successor, Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., claims that gains have been made regarding overall productivity and, by extension, food security and economic growth.
Allocations for the sector have been increased, with the Department of Agriculture's (DA) budget up some 31 percent this year to P208.58 billion, compared to 2023's P158.16 billion allocated in 2023.
Laurel, who was appointed in November last year, aims to more than double the current budget to P513.81 billion. He said that this was needed to achieve the government's goal of modernizing the farm and fisheries sector and increasing food production.
The agriculture chief, who often emphasizes the lack of investments in agriculture, has said that P93 billion would be needed alone for post-harvest facilities to reduce rice and corn wastage.
Another P1.2 trillion will be required, he also said, to irrigate an additional 1.2 million hectares to boost rice production and reduce imports.
The Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc. (PCAFI) said production and post-harvest facilities were being given better attention now compared to the previous years.
"When you ask what the priorities of the government are, agriculture is always included now. Before, it wasn't like that. So we're happy about that," PCAFI President Danilo Fausto claimed.
Under the DA's 3-year plan, investments will heavily focus on post-harvest facilities to increase the rate of product recovery and to lower the cost of major commodities. Tiu has bared plans to build a post-harvest facility in Dingras, Ilocos Norte and the DA is also eyeing to construct others in Tarlac, Iloilo and Bukidnon.
Under the Masagana Agri-Food Infrastructure Modernization (MAFIM) program, meanwhile, various projects are underway, including the establishment of 196 dryers, 48 silos, 221 warehouses, 57 rice mills, 24 corn mills, and 638 handling equipment units across the country.
The emphasis is on improving domestic production — ironic as the Philippines is primarily an agricultural country — and reducing dependence on imports.
Earlier this year, the government announced that farmers had produced a record 20 million metric tons (MT) of palay (unmilled rice) in 2023, 1.5 percent higher than the 19.76 million MT posted a year earlier.
In relation to this, rice imports last year were lower at 3.6 million MT, compared to the 3.82 million MT shipped in 2022.
During the first quarter of 2024, imports of farm goods also dropped by 0.3 percent to $4.34 billion from $4.36 billion last year, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed.
Agricultural exports, meanwhile, rose to $1.72 billion, a 10.7-percent increase from $1.56 billion a year earlier.
Trade in agricultural goods remained in deficit — $2.62 billion in the first 3 months of the year as gains in exports failed to offset a decrease in imports. It was, however, narrower than the $3.01 billion posted in the same period last year.
Reducing imports of essential agricultural machinery and inputs is also among the priorities for modernizing the farming sector.
To realize this, the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech) has been active in developing equipment such as tractors, harvesters and dryers.
PhilMech said from mid-2020 to March 2024, it had delivered 26,412 units of various agricultural equipment under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) Mechanization Program.
This benefited 6,385 farmers' cooperatives and associations and 368 local government units. Total procured agricultural equipment, meanwhile, rose to 28,817 since the RCEF-Mechanization Program began in mid-2019.
The DA has also been proactive in improving research and development, focusing on increasing production, developing better crop varieties and redesigning dam construction and integrating solar power to ensure sufficient water supply.
Through technological adoption and direct support to farmers, Tiu Laurel said the department remained committed to building a resilient and self-sufficient agricultural sector that could contribute significantly to the country's economic growth.
"In the past few months we have concretized the plan for the next four years. We already have a plan and we just need to implement it," he said.