Agri sector budget
WITH its decision to increase the budget of the Department of Agriculture (DA) in the 2024 National Expenditure Program (NEP), the national government has bowed to public demand.
The increase has given the administration of President Marcos an additional boost in the eyes of the more than 100 million Filipinos.
Everybody agrees that the agriculture sector plays a crucial role in ensuring the success of the government’s efforts to improve the living conditions of the people, notably the farmers and fishers.
The farmers, fishermen and other agricultural workers comprise the bulk of the population in the countryside.
Admittedly, government authorities, through concerned agencies and offices, have been looking into ways and means to meet the food and other needs of the suffering Filipino people.
Thus, various quarters, including ordinary citizens, paid a glowing tribute to the government for seeking a higher allocation of P197.84 billion for the agriculture sector in 2024.
The proposed 2024 budget of DA, which is concurrently headed by President Marcos, is a six percent increase from the current budget allocation of P186.54 billion.
The agriculture, forestry and fishing (AFF) sector, which registered a growth of 2.2 percent in 2022, accounted for 9.1 percent of the gross domestic product in the first quarter of 2023.
Thus, we commend the national government for increasing the 2024 agriculture department’s allocation to enable the AFF sector to sustain its growth trajectory.
In the view of many, the government deserves the support of the public as it exerts its best efforts to modernize Philippine agriculture.
