P1.3 trillion needed to boost farm output – DA

INVESTMENTS of at least P1.3 trillion are needed to raise Philippine farm output, the Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said.

In particular, some P1.2 trillion will have to be invested to effectively irrigate 1.2 million hectares of farmlands, the majority of which is dedicated to rice farming, he added.

Laurel also said that no significant postharvest facility had received government funding in the past 40 years. He noted a prevalence of small facilities that he described as “irrelevant” and “useless.”

“[W]e must build bigger. We have three designs — small, medium and large, not mini,” he said on Tuesday after presenting a three-year plan for agriculture to the Cabinet.

The Agriculture chief also said that constructing integrated rice mills and warehouse complexes would cost some P90 billion over several years.

The facilities will mitigate approximately 15 percent of rice losses attributed to inadequate postharvest facilities, he added.

The investment will also result in saving of around P10.7 billion worth of rice equivalent to an additional 23 days of inventory and roughly 10 percent of rice imports.

For 2024, he said that some P1 billion had been allocated to build four cold storage facilities, primarily at the Food Terminal Inc. (FTI) Complex in Taguig City, to address oversupply and wastage of vegetables in parts of Luzon.

Construction of the 5,000-pallet position cold storage facility in FTI is expected to take a minimum of 12 months.

Citing reports from traders, the DA said that losses were around 30 percent for vegetables that are transported from Benguet to Metro Manila.

“If we try to solve the problem as soon as possible, assuming a target of 2025, I need an additional P5 billion to address the vegetable cold storage issue of the whole nation,” Laurel continued.

He also said that addressing an oversupply of vegetables and other high-value crops would primarily be the responsibility of local government units as many agricultural functions had been devolved.

Lowering rice prices to P20 per kilo as promised by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., meanwhile, remains an “aspirational target” that will likely take several years to achieve.

He attributed the delay to the current El Niño cycle that has led to higher global rice prices.