The Department of Agriculture (DA) is already preparing its budget pitch for next year that would include higher funding for subsectors outside of rice and an establishment of a “buffer fund” to bankroll interventions during emergencies.
Agriculture Secretary William Dar began a five-day internal budget hearing with over 80 DA officials this week to “regroup, rethink and put in place key strategies” that could pull the industry up from last year’s contraction of 1.2 percent.
The rising prices of food items has prompted the agency to refocus its sights on other commodities outside rice.
The additional funding, Dar said, would be used to provide “significant budgetary support for …
Keep on reading: DA wants other subsectors to take center stage in budget plan