Philippine Agriculture Bullish
Tuesday, May 15th, 2007
Philippine Agri Dep’t Bullish on Attaining 2007 Growth Target
The Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA) on Sunday expressed confidence in attaining its growth target of four to five per cent for the agricultural sector this year on the strength of higher public spending for rural infrastructure such as irrigation and postharvest facilities that are designed to further boost productivity and reverse crop wastages that traditionally undercut farm output.Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said the DA is pumping P3.126 billion (US$66 million) into the rehabilitation, repair and restoration of irrigation systems covering 55,000 hectares of rice lands nationwide in the first half of the year.