The country’s agricultural sector, already hard-hit by the African swine fever (ASF) outbreak when the COVID-19 pandemic struck last year, continued its decline in the second quarter of the year as reported by the Philippine Statistical Authority (PSA) earlier this month. From a 3.4 percent dip in the first quarter of the year, agricultural output dipped anew by 1.5 percent compared to its 0.5 percent growth in the same period in 2020. The livestock sector’s production levels contracted further as it was only in May that the long-expected declaration of a state of calamity due to the ASF upsurge was issued by Malacañang.  Accounting for 14.2 percent of total farm output, livestock production decreased by 21.4 percent for the first half of the year, a more than fivefold drop from the 4.5 percent year-ago reduction. There are, however, some bright spots in the sector’s performance.  Crop production, which constitutes more than half of total agricultural output, registered 3.2 percent and 3.1 percent growth in the first two quarters.  Poultry, with a 13.5 percent share of farm output, rose by 2.5 percent for the quarter, bouncing back from a 2.6 percent decrease for the entire first semester. This was the backdrop for the clamor to increase the budget for agriculture in 2022. In the House of Representatives, the ways and means committee called for at least a 10 percent increase over the 2021 outlay of ₱85.6 billion “to resolve price worries and drive economic recovery.” As the record P₱5.024 trillion budget proposal for 2022 was announced, it was mentioned that agriculture and irrigation have a combined outlay of ₱103.5 billion.  This means that the Department of Agriculture is sharing this amount with the National Irrigation Administration, an agency under the Office of the President. Once the House of Representatives begins its budget deliberations, there is opportunity to clarify whether this amount would sufficiently address the needs of the sector.  Of greater interest to the sector’s stakeholders is the government’s two-tier budget process.  Tier 1 consists of ongoing spending, while proposals for new and increased spending are categorized under Tier 2.  “After Tier 1 is completed, the government knows what the ongoing spending for existing activities will be for the next three fiscal three years.” According to the National Agricultural and Fisheries (NAF) Council, a multi-sectoral consultative body among national government agencies, local government units, civil society organizations and private sector shareholders: “The DA’s FY 2022 total recommended budget is ₱231.76 billion with its Tier 1 proposal at ₱77.4 billion and Tier 2 proposal at ₱154.3 billion.  The recommended budget for the major agricultural sectors are as follows: ₱33.49 billion for rice, ₱7.21 billion for corn, ₱11.34 billion for high-value crops, ₱22.36 billion  for poultry and livestock, and ₱28.18 billion for fisheries.” The agricultural sector is in dire need of rational resource allocation and a definitive recovery roadmap that would bring it out of the doldrums.  Beyond survival and resiliency, it is imperative to pursue programs that would truly promote sustained growth.