KMP insulted by government’s measly budget for farmers: P5 support per hectare of corn

KMP insulted by government’s measly budget for farmers: P5 support per hectare of corn

 “It is the farmers, without any meaningful support from the government, who principally worked for a bountiful harvest. Even the so-called budget for irrigation cannot be claimed as government support because we’re the ones paying the exorbitant irrigation fees. Now, because the the government is giving measly funds for the national rice and corn program, we seriously doubt that high harvest yields can continue.” – KMP
By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
Bulatlat.com
MANILA – The Department of Agrarian Reform has more funds for tarpaulin and posters, and this, farmers group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) said, is downright insulting.

“The Aquino government is allotting measly appropriations for the DA’s [Department of Agrarian Reform] national rice and corn program. The DA is getting P53.7 billion ($1.248 billion) for 2012, but only P6.181 billion ($143.7 million) is being given to the national rice program. While farmers shoulder the high cost of production, the administration abandons its responsibility to subsidize rice and corn farmers across the country,” KMP secretary general Danilo Ramos said.

Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) leader Danilo Ramos said the Aquino administration cannot claim credit for the supposedly record high harvests of unmilled rice and corn in the first semester of this year. He said it was the farmers, without any meaningful support from the government, who worked for a bountiful harvest. Government is allotting only P6.181 billion for the national rice program. (Photo by Ina Alleco R. Silverio / bulatlat.com)

Ramos said of the total 2012 appropriations, only P4.533 billion (US$ 105.419 million) will go to 14 regional offices of the DA and the remaining amount will go the Office of the Secretary, the Agricultural Training Institute, Bureau of Agricultural Statistics, Bureau of Soil and Water Management, and the Bureau of Plant Industry. The P4.533 billion (US$ 105.419 million) in the meantime will be divided for the Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) with P3.31 billion (US$769.767 million) and P1.223 billion (US$ 284.418 ) for Capital Outlay (CO).

“This means that only P1.223 billion (US$ 284.418 million) was allocated for 4.35 million hectares of rice lands or a measly P281 (US$6.53) per hectare,” Ramos said. “The Aquino government is spending more for tarpaulins than for direct support to rice farmers.”

In the meantime, for the national corn program, the DA has an appropriation of P950.739 million (US$22.1 million) but only P761.46 million (US$ 17.6 million) will go to the 14 regions because the P189.279 million ( $4.4 million) will go to the aforementioned agencies of the DA. The P761.46 million ($17.6 million) will also be divided into the corn program’s MOOP748.769 million ($17.4 million) and P12.7 million (US$302,325) for CO.

“This translates to an allocation of only P5.10 (US$0.118) per hectare for the 2.49 million hectares of corn lands,” Ramos said. “Given how the oil prices, irrigation fees, and the prices other farm inputs continue to rise, the government should all the more provide for the needs of farmers and the rest of the agriculture sector. The small budget for the national rice and corn program is an insult to rice and corn farmers.”

The KMP leader also said President Aquino cannot claim credit for the supposedly record high harvests in palay (unmilled rice) and corn in the first semester of this year and attribute it to improved irrigation.
In a press briefing last Wednesday, Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said palay production reached 7.57 million metric tons in the first half of the year. This was a 14.4 percent increase from 6.62 million tons in the first semester of 2010. Corn harvest hit 3.30 million tons, 37 percent more than 2.41 million tons a year ago.

The DA attributed the jump in production to the expansion of irrigated lands. It also noted that there was sufficient rainwater in the first half of the year to enable farmers in non-irrigated areas to plant rice.

“It is the farmers, without any meaningful support from the government, who principally worked for a bountiful harvest. Even the so-called budget for irrigation cannot be claimed as government support because we’re the ones paying the exorbitant irrigation fees. Now, because the the government is giving measly funds for the national rice and corn program, we seriously doubt that high harvest yields can continue,” he said.

Massive landgrabbing in Central Luzon

In a related development, the Alyansa ng mga Magbubukid sa Gitnang Luson (AMGL or Peasant Alliance in Central Luzon) and its provincial chapter Amgl-Nueva Ecija announced that they will launch a comprehensive campaign of protests against land grabbing in the region.

Based on the 2010 accomplishment report of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), nearly 96,000 Nueva Ecija farmers comprised some 36 percent of the farmer-beneficiaries in Central Luzon. They cultivate more than 41 percent or 169,000-hectares of productive agricultural lands..... MORE

Source:  Bulatlat.com

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/08/14/kmp-insulted-by-governments-measly-budget-for-farmers-p5-support-per-hectare-of-corn/