Philippines-Investment in farming.

P2B to boost Mindanao agriculture in first half

DAVAO CITY — The Department of Agriculture will be spending P1.95 billion for infrastructure projects in Mindanao in the first half as part of regional efforts to cope with the impact of the global economic crisis.

The amount is P407 million above the P1.484 billion spent for the same item in the southern island for the whole of 2008, said Romulo B. Palcon, the department’s regional technical director.

Of the first-half spending, Central Mindanao would have the lion’s share at P578 million, followed by the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, P359 million; Northern Mindanao, P366 million; Davao Region, P227 million; Caraga, P265 million; and Zamboanga Peninsula, P157 million.

The big-ticket projects under the so-called economic resiliency plan include irrigation maintenance and rehabilitation, post-harvest facilities and farm-to-market roads.

About P160 billion of the total P330-billion stimulus package in the national budget has been earmarked for infrastructure spending. In this light, the Department of Agriculture was directed to focus on labor-intensive, high-impact projects with high local-value added to address unemployment.

The Department of Agriculture is one of the agencies identified by Budget Secretary Rolando G. Andaya, Jr. as having low absorptive capacity, or a low ability to spend the budget, behind the Department of Public Works and Highways.

In response, Agriculture Secretary Arthur C. Yap has ordered the agency’s field officials to craft a comprehensive blueprint to "ensure the effective and speedy implementation ofŠ high-impact projects in 2009."

The master plan would attempt to pinpoint where resources should be focused and where private sector funding could fill in the gap. — Joel B. Escovilla