Agriculture overhaul underway

The Department of Agriculture (DA) is eyeing a sweeping overhaul of laws and institutions to revive a farm sector weighed down by years of weak growth.

The agency is rolling out new infrastructure projects, unlocking key funds, and updating outdated commodity rules to boost farmer incomes and cut logistics costs.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. said Thursday the DA has asked Congress to help fix the sector’s “structural backbone,” starting with outdated laws that govern key agencies and slow decision-making.

Congress has already passed the Animal Industry and Competitiveness Act, aimed at modernizing livestock, poultry, and aquaculture and expanding access to financing with its annual funding of P20 billion over 10 years.

Amendments to the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) law are also nearing completion to streamline operations, tighten accountability, and cut red tape.

Several sidelined staff agencies will be restored to full line functions to speed up project delivery, he said.

Attention shifting to commodity laws

Attention is now shifting to commodity laws that no longer reflect market realities. Tiu Laurel said amendments affecting rice, corn, and coconut are being lined up to strengthen value chains and boost farmer incomes.

A centerpiece of the push is the long-delayed unlocking of the Coco Levy Fund. “With global coconut prices expected to stay high in the coming years, further delays risk squandering a strategic advantage,” Tiu Laurel warned, adding that farmers could miss out just as global demand peaks.

Still, he stressed that laws alone will not fix Philippine agriculture. Extension workers must return to the field as the “front line” of reform, while cooperative-building is being ramped up through new agri-coop programs with Senator Francis Pangilinan to widen farmers’ access to credit, markets and support services.

Legislative drive matched by infra spending

The legislative drive is being matched by a surge in infrastructure spending. The DA is rolling out “Bagsakan ng Bayan” mega food hubs in Clark, Bukidnon, Quezon, and other key areas.

Four mega cold storage facilities are set for completion next year, alongside about 60 modular cold storages nationwide — the agency’s first large-scale cold chain rollout.

More than 140 post-harvest facilities built from 2023 to 2025 will anchor a hub-and-spoke system to cut losses and stabilize prices, with additional facilities to be funded under the extended Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund.

Tiu Laurel said P2.4 billion has been earmarked next year for port projects, with nearly a dozen agri-ports in the pipeline nationwide to slash logistics costs and boost inter-island trade, especially from Mindanao.