The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) assailed the Marcos Jr. administration’s proposed P153.9 billion budget for the Department of Agriculture (DA) in 2026, saying it is “alarmingly small” compared to allocations for defense and infrastructure, despite the vital role of agriculture in food security and the economy. “Maliit na nga kung tutuusin ang badyet sa agrikultura, hindi pa lubos na napupunta at napakikinabangan ng mga magsasaka. Walang ayuda, walang kompensasyon, walang rehabilitasyon sa mga nasalantang sakahan at taniman.”

The DA’s budget share amounts to just 2.4% of the P6.35-trillion national budget. In contrast, the Department of National Defense (DND) is set to receive P382.3 billion, or 6%, while infrastructure development will get a massive P1.5 trillion, or 23.6% of the budget.

“Once again, agriculture is being sidelined. How can we secure our food supply when the entire agriculture budget is not even half of what is allotted for flood control projects alone?” said Danilo Ramos, Chairperson of KMP. KMP noted that the proposed P259.3 billion for water resources development and flood control measures is larger than the entire DA allocation.

The proposed 2026 DA budget is also smaller than the 2025 allocation of P178.3 billion (2.8% of budget). “Instead of increasing support for our farmers, the government is cutting back. This is unacceptable, especially since agriculture contributed 9% to GDP in 2024,” Ramos stressed.

Budget documents show that the government increased the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) by P20 billion. However, the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) faces a P24-billion cut, while the National Food Authority (NFA) will be reduced by P3.3 billion.

“Government must explain why it is pumping more money into RCEF when its disbursement track record is questionable,” Ramos said. Since 2019, RCEF has been allotted P10 billion annually under the Rice Tariffication Law. Yet utilization has been inconsistent: 2019 – 36.54%; 2020 – 86.45%; 2021 – 80%; 2022 – 76.16% and 2023 – 28.98% or an average of 61.63 percent.

“Billions are being allocated, but only a fraction is actually reaching farmers. Worse, we are not seeing a clear link between higher RCEF spending and increased palay production.

The KMP urged Congress to realign the budget and ensure stronger support for irrigation, food security, and productivity-enhancing programs.

“Agriculture deserves more than crumbs. A 2.4% budget share is far too little if we want to reduce import dependence, create rural jobs, and strengthen resilience against climate change. Food security must be a priority, not an afterthought,” Ramos stressed.

KMP further proposed that the unused portion of the 2025 flood control budget as well as part of the 2026 allocation for flood control projects be reallocated into direct production subsidies for farmers. “Redirecting even a fraction of these massive infrastructure funds would go a long way in improving local production,” Ramos concluded. ###