Funds lack blamed for AFMA failure

The Agricutural and Fisheries Modernization Act (AFMA) which expired last Feb. 8 flopped due to Congress’ failure to put money into the program.

Agriculture Undersecretary Arsenio Balisacan said that during the entire life of AFMA, huge amounts were appropriated for the program, but actual releases were inadequate to meet the department’s objectives.

"AFMA was a good law, but the program hardly took off because there just wasn’t enough financing," Balisacan said, adding hardly 50 percent of appropriated funds were released.

Balisacan said that while Congress was not consistent in releasing funds, the Department of Finance also failed to put in money into AFMA because it could not generate revenues that would have supported the program.

Agriwatch, a broad coalition of farmer/fisherfolk groups is pressing Congress to release money to bankroll the AFMA.

"It’s ironic that while the Arroyo administration made agriculture its centerpiece program, it has not given adequate support to the AFMA," said former Agriculture undersecretary Ernesto Odoñez who now heads Agriwatch.

Passed into law in 1997 under Republic Act 8435, AFMA is the framework for the modernization of the farming and fishery sectors that will make them more competitive in the global arena.

Under the law, Congress should have appropriated at least P20 billion as initial funding for the first year of AFMA implementation, and P17 billion yearly for the remaining years.

But Ordoñez noted that in 1998, Congress appropriated P15.7 billion but the actual release was just P11.3 billion. In 1999, P15 billion was approved but only P13.6 billion was released; 2001, out of P20.8 billion, only P15.6 billion was released; 2001 only P14.9 billion out of the appropriated P16.1 billion went to the DA and last year, only P15.7 billion was released.

Ordonez said the continued neglect of the agriculture sector which accounts for a fifth of the country’s economic output is resulting in more widespread poverty to marginalized farmers and fisherfolks.

Agriwatch is supporting the DA’s move to ask Congress to extend AFMA until 2010.

The proposed extension is necessary and will coincide with the full implementation of the Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) scheme of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Under this trading arrangement of which the Philippines is a signatory, the country should have completed its scheduled phasedown of tariffs of major and sensitive agricultural imports consistent with the goal of making the ASEAN market a tariff-free trading area for its members.

Balisacan pointed out that extending the time frame for giving the mandated continuing appropriation for AFMA will boost public investment required to help the agriculture sector become competitive.

The DA is also seeking an amendment to AFMA that will exempt the program from being subjected to mandatory reserves that will be imposed by the Executive Department, this will ensure the continuous use of the funds.

At the same time, the DA is also pushing for the review of Section 111 of RA 8435, on the initial appropriation, particularly, since the original intention of the law/program was to provide the P20 billion budget for the first year that is over and above the regular budgets of the DA and other implementing agencies.

"What has been happening however, is that the line agencies of the DA allocate a portion of their own budgets to contribute to the AFMA which should not be the case," said Ordoñez.

Congress food and fisheries committee chaired by Rep. Alfredo Maranon has already filed House Bill 4829 which seeks to extend AFMA until 2010.