ANGARA TO DA: CHANNEL MORE FUNDING
INTO AGRI SECTOR MODERNIZATION

Senator Edgardo J. Angara commended the additional funding allotted by the government to the Department of Agriculture (DA), saying this should go into modernizing of the agricultural sector.

"Our country is still very dependent on agriculture. Modernizing Philippine agriculture is key to fighting poverty in the rural areas," said Angara, former Agriculture Secretary.

The Department of Budget and Management recently announced that P2.96 billion would be released to the DA as part of the administration's efforts to boost spending 2011.

This additional budget would address the damage to livelihood caused by Typhoons Pedring and Quiel. It would also be used to ensure food sufficiency for farming families throughout the Philippines.

The majority of this funding is earmarked for the construction of irrigation systems, building and repairing farm-to-market roads, and sustaining mangrove reforestation in different regions.

Angara, former DA secretary, reasoned that aside from these initiatives, the DA should also channel some of its resources into research and development (R&D).

For example, said Angara, organic farming has increasingly grown popular in other countries because of the growing interest in a "green" lifestyle.

"We should study whether a niche market of organic goods can be cultivated in the Philippines," he noted.

"The bottom line is we must modernize our agriculture sector through R&D to improve profitability, productivity and competitiveness ," stressed Angara.