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By Angelo S. Samonte Reporter
President Arroyo is allocating
almost P15 billion in the proposed 2008 national budget to fund
agricultural projects nationwide.
Mrs. Arroyo told farmers at the
inauguration of the Aulo irrigation project in Palayan City, Nueva
Ecija, that P8 billion would be spent for irrigation, and another P5
billion will be used to construct farm-to-market roads next year.
The National Irrigation
Administration (NIA) will manage the P3.4-billion budget for
irrigation repair and construction, she said.
She added that the government
allocated P250 million for the Balog-Balog irrigation project in
Tarlac and P1.5 billion for Casecnan project.
Some P700 million will be spent
to complete the Banaogang project in Ilocos Sur. Another P700
million will fund the Southern Philippines irrigation sector in
Mindanao, the President said.
Farmers can also avail themselves
of microfinancing from the Land Bank of the Philippines, agriculture
officials said.
The President urged lawmakers to
approve 28 priority bills, including three that would directly
affect the agriculture sector next year.
These three proposals include the
extension of the Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, the
review of the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act (Republic
Act 8435) and the Agri-Agra law.
The enhancement fund was
established by virtue of Republic Act 8178 as one of the safety-net
measures intended to improve farming competitiveness and protect
local farm producers from the impact of globalization.
The Department of Agriculture is
pushing for an extension of the fund, which is set to expire on
December 31. The department wants to have the fund until 2015 so it
can be accessed by agricultural producers.
R.A. 8435 will be up for review
in Congress to determine whether the government has complied with
its provisions.
Under R.A. 8435, the Department
of Agriculture was supposed to have been given an additional
allocation of P19 billion a year, aside from its usual budget, to
develop the crops and fisheries sector.
The Agri-Agra Law (Presidential
Decree 717) will also be up for review to determine how it can
better help farmers avail themselves of credit, especially from
commercial banks.
The law mandates that all banks
shall set aside 25 percent of their loanable funds for agricultural
credit, of which 10 percent is allotted for the beneficiaries of
agrarian reform, and 15 percent to be given as agricultural credit.
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