An economist-congressman has filed two House bills that he claimed would help President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. in his handling of the Department of Agriculture (DA), and the looming food supply crisis in general.
In a statement Friday, July 22, Albay 2nd district Rep. Joey Salceda bared that he filed the proposed Livestock, Poultry, and Dairy (LPD) Development Act; and the proposed Universal Agricultural Tariff Allocation Towards Domestic Competitiveness Act. Both bills are currently unnumbered.
“Agriculture is much more than just rice. And these two bills, I believe, will help us put that fact in proper perspective. I believe that the success of President Marcos’s tenure in the DA depends almost entirely on that holistic perspective,” Salceda said.
Following the model of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), Salceda has filed the LPD Development Act which says “will address the high production cost, particularly in corn, the unorganized, backward, and small scale production in the livestock and poultry sectors, and fix the fragmentation in government structure for livestock and poultry"
The features of the LPD Development Act are:
1. Rationalization of LPD support agencies into two agencies: a) Philippine Livestock and Poultry Authority and b) Bureau of Animal Safety and Regulations
2. Replacement of minimum access volume (MAV) system on livestock, poultry, and corn with a uniform 5 percent tariff rate, similar to rice tariffication;
3. Allocation of tariff revenues for livestock and poultry earmarked for LP productivity improvement (Livestock and Poultry Competitiveness and Enhancement Fund, amounting to P3 billion);
4. Allocation of tariff revenues for corn earmarked for corn productivity improvement (Corn Competitiveness Enhancement Fund of P2 billion); and
5. Exemption from taxes and duties of LPD farm inputs, veterinary and other supplies, equipment, machineries, breeders, etc.
“The livestock and poultry sectors are particularly crucial. Protein deficiency almost certainly leads to learning deficiencies. In fact, students from countries with higher pork and chicken prices tend to have lower test scores such as in the Program for International Student Assessment,” the Bicolano said.
Meanwhile, Salceda wants to introduce amendments to the Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (ACEL) Law via his proposed Universal Agricultural Tariff Allocation Towards Domestic Competitiveness Act.
“The ACEF (Republic Act 8178) is expiring this year. When it expires, whatever support programs are being funded by that law will no longer be available to the specific agri sectors. So, that’s the main point of urgency in that proposal.
“But, in a more long-term and structural view, we have always seen agricultural development as a matter of protecting the domestic sector from world trade rather than nurturing it enough to be competitive with the rest of the world," he said.
Salceda stressed that Philippine agricultural products can compete with the rest of the world, "But we need to identify the gaps that we can bridge with government support. That is the point of my proposal.”
Salceda’s proposal will change the ACEF from a lump-sum primarily used towards credit programs from farmers, to separate funds per crop sector, with programs primarily focused on machinery, seeds and breeding materials, and training, similar to the RCEF provision under the Rice Tariffication Law.
“The problem with credit is that it presents barriers of access to farmers. It’s not easy to borrow from banks. And it’s no guarantee of yield or quality improvements,” he said.
“Likewise, ensuring that the theoretical damage due to world trade per crop is compensated correspondingly with domestic support from tariff revenues is consistent with the recommendation of agricultural experts that not enough support programs have been made towards 'nurturing' the domestic sectors, and far too many resources have instead been spent on 'protectionist' programs and policies.
"The expiry of the ACEF this year is an opportunity to reorganize its use and allocation towards such “nurturing” programs,” the former three-term Albay governor wrote in his explanatory note.