DA's Laurel says P1.3T in investments needed for agri infra projects

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. on Wednesday said the Philippines needs at least P1.3 trillion worth of investments to build vital infrastructure for the agricultural sector over the next few years.

In a statement, Laurel said he has presented the investment requirements under his three-year plan to President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.

The Agriculture chief emphasized the need for large-scale infrastructure in agriculture to boost rice production, reduce wastage of agricultural products, and ensure the country's food security.

Laurel said that the rice sector alone would need P1.2 trillion in capital spending for the irrigation of 1.2 million hectares of farm land.

"We really need to fund these projects. But we must build bigger. We have three designs—small, medium, and large, not mini," Laurel said.

He stressed that building integrated rice mills and warehouse complexes—to reduce an estimated 15% in losses in rice due to the lack of post-harvest facilities—would cost around P90 billion over several years.

However, this would save around P10.7 billion worth of rice, or an additional 23 days of rice inventory, which is equivalent to around 10% of rice imports based on last year's figures, according to Laurel.

The Agriculture chief said that this year alone, P1 billion was allocated to build four cold storage facilities, primarily at the Food Terminal Inc. Complex in Taguig City, to partly address the recurrent oversupply and wastage of vegetables in parts of Luzon alone.

Transporting vegetables from Benguet to Metro Manila results in 30% losses that are eventually passed on to consumers, Laurel said, citing estimates from traders.

"If we try to solve the problem as soon as possible, assuming a target of 2025, I need an additional P5 billion to address the vegetable cold-storage issue of the whole nation," Laurel said.

The 5,000-pallet position cold storage facility in FTI will take at least 12 months to complete.

He noted, however, that the main government agencies that should address the oversupply of vegetables and high-value crops are the local government units because many agricultural functions have been devolved.

Laurel said the DA will assist, nonetheless, in resolving these perennial problems.

Replying to the oft-repeated question on lowering rice price to P20 a kilo, he said the price remains an "aspirational target" that will take several years to achieve given the latest El Niño cycle that has jacked up global rice prices.

He noted that rice in Vietnam, the main source of Philippine rice imports, sells for around P34 a kilo due to high demand given importing nations' stockpiling. — VDV, GMA Integrated News