SENATOR Cynthia Villar on Monday said research in the agriculture sector is important but should have the end goal of resulting in concrete developments that are felt by the farmers as she stressed the need for bigger budget allocation for the livestock industry.
“Magbibigay din tayo sa livestock ng pera pero we want to know where we’re going to place it. Baka mapunta na naman ito sa overhead, wala na namang developmental. Baka pumunta na naman sa research wala na namang developmental,” Villar said in a Senate committee hearing on the Philippines’ livestock industry development.
“Okay lang ‘yung research, akala niyo nagagalit ako sa research, pero ‘yung research should result to development. Hindi puwede ‘yung researching for the sake of research,” she added.
Villar, a few months ago, chided Department of Agriculture officials after learning that its proposed budget in 2020 included a P150-million allocation for research in the country’s national corn program.
Villar said she believes the livestock sector should be given more budget because it contributes 33 percent to the country’s agricultural production.
She pointed out that the sector only has a P2-billion budget while the fisheries sector, which contributes only 15 percent to the agricultural production, was given P6 billion. (GMA News)
