Farmers lobby for more poultry, livestock funding as agri budget comes under review

THE poultry and livestock industries need more funding to protect them from extreme weather events, farmers said with Congress poised to review the 2024 budget proposals for agriculture.

Agriculture has been allocated P181.4 billion in the proposed 2024 national budget, up 4.5% from 2023.

Elias Jose M. Inciong, president of the United Broiler Raisers Association (UBRA), said funding must be less “rice-centric,” and asked for more support for common service facilities for poultry and livestock, as well as infrastructure to store yellow corn, a main component of animal feed.

“There is a need to diversify our carbohydrate sources. Other grains and vegetables should be explored,” he said in a Viber chat.

UBRA Chairman Gregorio A. San Diego, Jr. raised the need to fund neglected crops like corn, tapioca, and tomatoes.

Under the 2024 National Expenditure Program, the National Rice Program has been allotted P30.87 billion, while the programs for corn and high-value crops will receive P5.28 billion and P1.94 billion, respectively. The budget also allocates P10 billion to the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, an automatic allocation taken from import tariffs according to the provisions of the Rice Tariffication Law.

 The budget also includes P17.27 billion for farm-to-market roads, and P31.18 billion for irrigation.

 “The biggest problem is the country’s loss of agricultural land, especially irrigated land,” he said via Viber.

Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura Executive Director Jayson H. Cainglet pushed for funding to make the industry more resilient against calamities. 

“With extreme weather becoming the norm, there should have been a corresponding budget response for crop and livestock insurance, indemnity and emergency funds to cover and offset farm losses in the era of extreme weather,” he said via Viber. 

Raul Q. Montemayor, national manager of Federation of Free Farmers, pointed to the need to assign more importance to program effectiveness rather than budget utilization.

“Right now, the (Department of Budget and Management’s) main criterion in deciding whether to fund or not is how much of a program’s budget was disbursed in the previous year, not how effective it was in achieving targets,” he said in a Viber chat. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz