The Department of Agriculture (DA) will receive almost P10 billion anew for the implementation of its farm-to-market roads (FMR) projects for Fiscal Year (FY) 2019, following the department’s slow budget disbursement registered in the past years.
In 2014, the DA’s disbursement rate was a measly 5.9 percent, based on records from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM). This means that out of the P12 billion FMR appropriations, the DA disbursed a meager P708 million.
The DA registered a significant increase in disbursement rate for 2015 at 42.8 percent, which went down to 39.1 percent and to 38.1 percent for 2016 and 2017, respectively.
“We want the DA to improve its disbursement rate and translate its budget to actual delivery of FMR projects,” DBM Secretary Benjamin Diokno said.
This is in line with the shift to an annual cash-based appropriations from the two-year obligation-based budgeting system. Under the new scheme, contracts should be fully delivered by the end of the FY, which effectively shifts project implementation to a one-year horizon.
As such, government agencies have to keep up by improving their performance in terms of disbursements and actual delivery of goods and services, Sec. Diokno explained.
FMRs improve the mobility of goods, services, and the general public. They serve as links for better access to basic social services such as health centers, schools, and areas for employment.
“FMRs are the foundation of modern agriculture,” the DA’s FMR Network Plan states. Furthermore, Republic Act No. 8435 or the Agriculture and Fisheries Act of 1997 mandates the DA to be on top of the construction and upgrading of FMR projects.
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