Two congressmen on Monday want to give the Department of Agrarian Reform from P3 billion to P5 billion more in the 2021 national government budget to fund the planned establishment of ‘mega farms’ for agrarian reform beneficiaries.
The department plans to establish such farms after the break-up of big land holdings in order to distribute to the farmers the land they cultivate.
During the budget hearing at the House of Representatives on Monday, Deputy Speaker Luis Raymund Villafuerte and Party Rep. Argel Cabatbat said there is a need for the department to be given enough funding for the implementation of its “mega farms” pilot project for agrarian reform beneficiaries.
Villafuerte said the DBM-approved proposed P8.85 billion budget for the DAR next year is “too small,” since of the amount, only P741 million was allotted for the Agrarian Reform Beneficiary and Sustainability Program.
“The department submitted the mega farms proposal to the House. I am in favor of the concept since it involves consolidating farms now owned by beneficiaries into 50-hectare plantations in order to develop these for commercial farming. This will liberate the beneficiaries from subsistence farming,” Villafuerte said.
Under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law, farmers are not given more than three hectares each.
“So I would like to put on record and I hope our colleagues will support, that I will strongly push for the funding of the mega farms concept by at least P3 billion to P5 billion to help the farmers get liberated from the bondage of the soil,” he added.
For his part, Cabatbat said there is a need to establish mega farms so that farmers can avail of the benefits of economics of scale.
“Thus we need to pour funds in order to make this a reality,” he said.
“Personally, I would move to accommodate the increase in the budget of DAR in the amount of P5 billion to start this project,” he added.
Agrarian Reform Undersecretary David Erro told congressmen that the “mega farms” proposal is a concept where around 50 hectares of contiguous land will be developed and provided with support services from farm machinery to seeds and fertilizers. The proposal aims to organize agrarian reform beneficiaries in a particular area into a cooperative, he added.
Meanwhile, thr proposed P4.5-trillion national budget for next year should be ready for signature by President Duterte in early December, Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said.
He said the House, together with the Senate, is aiming for speed in considering and approving the budget proposal so that by January, the government could start implementing projects, programs and activities that would generate jobs and income for the people.
“The budget should provide hope to our people – hope for jobs and economic stimulus – at the earliest possible time,” Cayetano said.
“So our initial target is to finish it in the House this month and send it to the Senate by the end of September or first week of October. We hope the President could sign it first week of December. It should be on his desk by December 1,” he added.
Deputy Speaker and 1-Pacman Rep. Mikee Romero, meanwhile, said that 4.3 million families covered by the government’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps will receive P106 billion in financial grants next year.
Romeo said the poorest of the poor comprises the bulk of the proposed P169.3-billion 2021 budget for the Department of Social Welfare and Development, which implements the 4Ps.
Romero, one of the authors of the law institutionalizing 4Ps or conditional cash transfers, said the program grants a monthly subsidy of up to P1,500 to qualified families, provided they comply with certain conditions, including keeping children in school and attending family development sessions.
He added that the program funding for 2021 represents an increase of P5 billion over this year’s P101 billion.
“The increase means that more poor families will receive financial assistance from the government,” he said.
The House leader pointed out that the total appropriation for 4Ps for next year actually amounts to P113.8 billion, including P7.8 billion for administrative cost and other expenses.
He said P4.7 billion of the P7.8 billion will go to salaries, P1.6 billion to “cost of service;” P289 million to “bank service fees;” P432 million to “monitoring and evaluation/spot checks;” P393 million to administrative expenses; P111 million to training, and P27 million to information, education and printing of manuals and booklets.
Romero said that these miscellaneous expenses form part of the annual appropriation for 4Ps.
He called on the DSWD to clarify certain yearly allocations, like those for “cost of service” and “bank service fees,” whether these are separate expense items or are one and the same totaling a combined P2 billion.
He also urged state-owned Land Bank, the principal conduit of 4Ps cash grants, and other participating banks to reduce their service fees.
A 50-percent reduction will mean an additional P1 billion that could go to beneficiaries or more poor families benefitting from the program,” he said.
Romero said the P169.3-billion DSWD budget for next year also includes P41 billion for social protection programs like medical, transportation and burial assistance, and P4.3 billion for disaster response such as the provision of relief goods.
