Another group has called on local government units (LGUs) to set aside more budget for the agriculture sector in anticipation of the full implementation of Mandanas-Garcia ruling, which will increase their fund allocation.
In a statement, Food security advocacy group Tugon Kabuhayan said LGUs must prioritize farm production support and post-harvest investments for agriculture and fisheries starting next year.
According to the Philippine Council of Agriculture, the ruling will lead to a P234.6 billion expected increase in the National Tax Allotment of LGUs by the fiscal year 2022, based on computations by the Department of Finance.
“This favorable development has long been awaited by our LGUs. With more financial resources, the provincial governments, in particular, can significantly boost the delivery of devolved functions and better perform their role as the country’s ‘food security czars’,” said Agriculture Secretary William Dar, during the recently-concluded National Food Security Summit (NFSS).
Tugon Kabuhayan is the second group to make the call to LGUs to set aside higher funds for the agriculture sector amid the implementation of the Supreme Court ruling.
Earlier in May, the Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc (PCAFI) asked President Rodrigo Duterte to issue an Executive Order (EO) mandating LGUs to allot a higher budget for their respective agricultural development.
This, as the group fears that higher local government funds may result in a lower national budget for the agriculture sector.
For its part, Tugon Kabuhayan suggests that LGUs prioritize the use of additional resources to support increased production and investments in post-harvest facilities.
“We suggest that 10 percent of the funds or P23.4 billion be allocated for this annually, especially in the countryside where most production is happening. The allocation can be adjusted once LGUs reach the desired production and post-harvest losses targets,” the group said.
Increase production coupled with lower post-harvest losses will not only benefit the countryside. “Done properly, metropolitan cities will share the benefit in terms of availability of fresh, nutritious food at affordable prices,” Tugon Kabuhayan further said.
Furthermore, it said that local producers are more than capable of addressing the country’s need for accessible and affordable food and that they just need facilities and systems that support production and post-harvest facilities that ensure that whatever is produced is not wasted. In the case of fish, the group estimated that 25 percent of fish is lost in the supply chain and the biggest loss transpires in the retail market.
“Physical loss happens because of inadequate handling methods, as well as limited access to ice, cold storage appropriate transport such as reefer vans. If we can reduce our losses to 10 percent from 25 percent the total volume of fish saved is 660,000 metric tons with an estimated value of over P41 billion,” the group explained.
Moreover, Tugon Kabuhayan urged LGUs to consider post-harvest infrastructure as investments rather than support facilities for free.
“LGUs should generate income from post-harvest facilities to ensure that the same are professionally operated and properly maintained,” it stressed.
Lastly, Tugon Kabuhayan asked LGUs to appoint fisheries officers in their respective municipal and provincial offices to ensure that technical support services are available to municipal fisherfolk and fish producers.
“Capable and dedicated fisheries officers are valuable in a supportive post-harvest mechanism. These technical experts can provide training on post-harvest and processing to the community,” Tugon Kabuhayan said.
“We hope that with our governors and mayors as partners in attaining food security, deployment of agriculture and fishery programs in the locality will be faster and more targeted,” it added.