AFMA fund support extended

The extension of funding support for the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act (AFMA) was approved recently by the Senate committee on food and agriculture chaired by Senate President Pro Tempore Manny Villar.

After receiving unanimous support from various government agencies including the Departments of Agriculture, Agrarian Reform, Interior and Local Government, and Science and Technology, among others, Villar’s committee approved a bill extending by six more years (up to 2010) funding support for the AFMA.

Under the AFMA law, passed in 1997, P20 billion would be made available for agriculture and fisheries related projects for the first year, with P17 billion a year allocated for the next six years.

Under the committee-approved Senate Bill 2025 the P17 billion yearly allocation for AFMA that ends in 2004, will be extended by six more years.

"This is a very positive development towards ensuring funding for projects that will benefit our small farmers and fishermen, " said Villar.

Villar’s bill also aims to clearly identify funding sources, as in previous years, mandated funding was not fully released for AFMA.

Investment in agriculture, stressed Villar, is the key to uplifting the sector, thus the need to extend AFMA, which provides the framework and impetus for agricultural investment by the public sector.