Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 3) — The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said the proposed budget for the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) jumped by 6% for 2024.
Under the National Expenditure Program for 2024, DA was allocated ₱92.4 billion, while DAR was allocated ₱8.89 billion – or ₱101.29 billion combined, compared to the ₱95.72 billion in the 2023 budget.
“We [have] already increased the budget of DA and DAR this year by 30%,” Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman explained in a press briefing on Thursday.
“So ang ibig sabihin noon nagsimula na tayo nang mataas ‘yong base natin for 2023 and then 2024 dinagdagan pa natin ng additional 6% so mataas na,” she added.
[Translation: This means we started with a bigger base this 2023 and then for 2024, we have an additional 6% increase, so this is even higher.]
She noted that funding for the agriculture sector has been low in the past two decades, highlighting this push that the Marcos administration is giving the sector.
