‘The Biggest Job In The World Is Getting Bigger” – BASF, Referring To Agriculture. If We Want To Succeed In The Field, PH Needs Billions In Its Budget!
It is too much, yes – that is, if you don’t know the reason
why. I’m reading ANN’s report, “DA Chief Cites Major Strides In Rice Sector
Three Years After RTL” (Author Not Named,
19 May 2022, DA.gov.ph).
Because it has been 3 years since the Rice
Tariffication Law (RTL), the total amount we are talking about is
already P30,000,000,000.
(“The biggest job” image from BASF, Twitter.com)
With Senator Cynthia
Villar leading the RTL framers, the law that allots so much additional
funds to the Department of Agriculture (DA) was signed by PRRD on 14 February
2019. That was some 6 months before William
Dar was appointed Secretary of Agriculture; here now is Mr Dar reporting
on the RTL as according to ANN:
While the initial
implementation of the RTL proved to be challenging due to start-up glitches,
coupled with a protracted pandemic, the law served as the major [game-changer]
that spearheaded the structural transformation of the country’s agriculture
sector.
Note: Mr Dar is saying the RTL “spearheaded the structural
transformation” of PH Agriculture. Further:
Our mid-term review
showed that the RTL provides for the appropriate policy framework and
productivity-enhancing provisions to catalyze the transformation of the rice
industry – From one that is focused on self-sufficiency to one that is less
reliant on rice imports,
That is to say, PH is veering from a policy of
self-sufficiency in rice to a policy of reduced imports. Even if we cannot
produce all of the rice for our citizens, we have to produce more
for ourselves at any rate. Rice imports are problematic – the less rice
problems we have, the better for the country.
ANN says:
Secretary Dar
attributed the success of RTL to its framers, led by Senator Cynthia Villar,
who masterfully steered the crafting and implementation of the new rice regime
after more than 30 years of failed attempts under previous administrations.
Mr Dar gave much credit for the RTL to Sen Villar, saying:
None of this will be
possible if not for the political will and [grassroots] understanding of the
rice sector by Senator Villar. As chairperson of the Senate Committee on Food
and Agriculture, she worked hard for RTL to be realized, effectively ridding us
of the numerous inefficiencies that hounded our [Quantitative Restrictions] regime.
Under the law, the DA allots the P10 Billion to 4 components of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement
Fund: (1) farm mechanization, P5
Billion; (2) development & promotion of inbred rice, P3 Billion; (3) credit assistance, P1 Billion; and extension & training services, P1 Billion.
Since I am an educator – BSA major in Ag Edu, UP Los Baños
’65 – I am quite interested in extension & training:
The
DA’s Agriculture Training Institute (ATI) has not been active in
extension. ATI, there’s a million things to do!@517
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