AGRICULTURE PROBLEM

LACK OF FACILITIES AND

MACHINERIES THAT HINDERS
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE
FARMING INDUSTRY
SOLUTION POLICY
AGRICULTURE AND FISHERIES
MODERNIZATION ACT (AFMA)
OF 1997.
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8435
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8435

“AN ACT PRESCRIBING URGENT RELATED MEASURE TO

MODERNIZE THE AGRICULTURE AND FISHERIES SECTORS OF
THE COUNTRY IN ORDER TO ENHANCE THEIR
PROFITABILITY, AND PREPARE SAID SECTORS FOR THE
CHALLENGES OF GLOBALIZATON THROUGH AN ADEQUATE,
FOCUSED AND RATIONAL DELIVERY OF NECESSARY
SUPPORT SERVICES, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFORE
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.”
SCOPE OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8435
a. Poverty Alleviation and Social Equity - The State shall ensure that the
poorer sectors of society have equitable access to resources, income
opportunities, basic and support services and infrastructure
especially in areas where productivity is low as a means of improving
their quality of life compared with other sectors of society.
b. Food Security - The State assure the availability adequacy, accessibility
and affordability of food supplies to all times;
c. Rational Use of Resources - The State shall adopt a rational approach
in the allocation of public investment in agriculture and fisheries in
order to assure efficiency and effectiveness in the use of scarce
resources and thus obtain optimal returns on its investment;
d. Global Competitiveness - The State shall enhance the competitiveness of
the agriculture and fisheries sectors in both domestic and foreign
market;
e. Sustainable Development - The State shall promote development that
complete with the preservation of the ecosystem in areas where
agriculture and fisheries are carried. The State should exert care and
judicious use of the country's natural resources in order to attain
long-term sustainability;
f. People Empowerment - The State shall promote people empowerment
by enabling all citizens through direct participation or through their
duly elected chosen or designated representatives the opportunity to
RA 8435 Agriculture & Fisheries Modernization Act (AFMA) Philippine
Department of Agriculture participate in policy formulation and
decision-making by establishing the appropriate mechanisms and by
giving them access to information; and
g. Protection from Unfair Competition - The State shall protect small
farmers and fisher folk from unfair competition such as monopolistic
and oligopolistic practices by promoting a policy environment that
provides them priority access to credit and strengthened
cooperative-based marketing system.
OBJECTIVES OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8435
a. To modernize the agriculture and fisheries sectors by transforming these
sectors from a resource-based to a technology-based industry;
b. To enhance profits and incomes in the agriculture and fisheries sectors
particularly the small farmers and fisherfolk, by ensuring equitable access to
assets, resources and services, and promoting higher-value crops, value-
added processing, agribusiness activities, and agro-industrialization;
c. To ensure the accessibility, availability and stable supply of food to all at all
times;
d. To encourage horizontal and vertical integration, consolidation and expansion
of agriculture and fisheries activities, groups, functions and other services
through the organization of cooperatives, farmers and fisherfolk's
associations, corporations, nucleus estates, and consolidated farms and to
enable these entities to benefit from economies of scale, afford them a
stronger negotiating position, purse more focused, efficient and appropriate
research and development efforts and enable them to hire professional
managers;
OBJECTIVES OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8435
e. To promote people empowerment by strengthening people's organizations,
cooperatives and NGOs and by establishing and improving mechanisms and
processes for their participation in government decisionmaking and
implementation;
f. To pursue a market-driven approach to enhance the comparative advantage of our
agriculture and fisheries sectors in the world market;
g. To induce the agriculture and fisheries sectors to ascend continuously the value-
added ladder by subjecting their traditional or new products to further processing
in order to minimize the marketing of raw, unfinished or unprocessed products;
h. To adopt policies that will promote industry dispersal and rural industrialization by
providing incentives to local and foreign investors to establish industries that have
backward linkages to the country's agriculture and fisheries resource base;
i. To provide social and economic adjustment measures that increase productivity and
improve market efficiency while ensuring the protection and preservation of the
environment and equity for small farmers and fisherfolk; and
j. To improve the quality of life of all sectors.
5 MAJOR CONCERNS OF
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8435
a. Food security;
b. Poverty alleviation and social equity;
c. Income enhancement and profitability, especially for farmers and
fisherfolk;
d. Global competitiveness; and
e. Sustainability
GOALS AND INDICATORS OF
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8435
a. Increase in the volume quality and value of agriculture and fisheries production for domestic
consumption and for exports;
b. Reduction in post-harvest losses;
c. Increase in the number/types and quality of processed agricultural and fishery products;
d. Increase in the number of international trading partners in agriculture and fishery products;
e. Increase in the number of sustainable agriculture and fisheries firms engaged in domestic
production, processing, marketing and export activities;
f. Increase in and wider level of entrepreneurship among farmers and fisherfolk in the area;
g. Increase in the number of farms engaged in diversified farming; and
h. Reduced use of agro-chemicals that are harmful to health and the environment.
CHAPTER 4 OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8435
IRRIGATION POLICY
Section 26. Declaration of Policy
It is the policy of the State to use its natural resources rationally and equitably. The State shall
prevent the further destruction of watersheds, rehabilitate existing irrigation systems and
promote the development of irrigation systems that are effective, affordable, appropriate, and
efficient. In the choice of location-specific irrigation projects, the economic principle of
comparative advantage shall always be adhered to.
Section 27. Research and Development
Irrigation Research and Development (R&D) shall be pursued and priority shall be given to the
development of effective, appropriate and efficient irrigation and water management
technologies. The Department shall coordinate with the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources concerning the preservation and rehabilitation of watersheds to support the irrigation
systems.
CRITERIA FOR SELECTION OF IRRIGATION
DEVELOPMENT SCHEME
The Selection of appropriate scheme of irrigation development shall be location-specific and
based on the following criteria:
a. Technical feasibility;
b. Cost-effectiveness;
c. Affordability, low investment cost per unit area;
d. Sustainability and simplicity of operation;
e. Recovery of operation and maintenance cost;
f. Efficiency in water use;
g. Length of gestation period, and
h. Potential for increasing unit area productivity.
Section 30. National Irrigation Systems (NIS)
The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) shall continue to plan, design, develop, rehabilitate
and improve the NISs. It shall continue to maintain and operate the major irrigation structures
including the headworks and main canals.
In addition, the NIA is mandated to gradually turn over operation and maintenance of the
National Irrigation System's secondary canals and on-farm facilities to Irrigators' Associations.

Section 31. Communal Irrigation Systems (CIS)

The Department shall, within five (5) years from the effectivity of this Act, devolve the planning,
design, and management of CISs, including the transfer of NIA's assets and resources in
relation to the CIS, to the LGUs. The budget for the development, construction operation and
maintenance of the CIS and other types of irrigation systems shall be prepared by and
coursed through the LGUs. The NIA shall continue to provide technical assistance to the LGUs
even after complete devolution of the Irrigation Systems to the LGUs, as may be deemed
necessary.

Section 32. Minor Irrigation Schemes

The Department shall formulate and develop a plan for the promotion of a private sector-led
development of minor irrigation systems, such as Shallow Tube Wells (STWs), Low-Lift pumps
(LLPs) and other inundation systems. The plan shall be included in the Short-term Agriculture
and Fisheries Modernization Plan.

Section 33. Other Irrigation Construction Schemes

The Government shall also encourage the construction of irrigation facilities through other
viable schemes for the construction of irrigation such as build-operate-transfer, build-transfer
and other schemes that will fast track the development of irrigation systems.
Section 34. Guarantee of the National Government
To make build-operate-transfer (BOT) projects for irrigation attractive to proponents, the
national government shall issued the needed payment guarantee for BOT projects which shall
answer for default of the National Irrigation Administration. Such amounts needed to answer
for the payment guarantee is hereby to be appropriated.
Section 35. Irrigation Service Fees (ISF)
Upon effectivity of this Act, the NIA shall immediately review the ISF rates and recommend
to the Department reasonable-rates within six (6) months from the effectivity of this Act.
Section 36. Monitoring and Evaluation
The Department shall monitor the implementation of R & D programs and irrigation projects.
The Department shall review all existing irrigation systems every four (4) years, to determine
their viability or ineffectiveness. The Department shall employ the services of independent
evaluators to assess the over-all impact of the country's irrigation development
Section 37. Exemption from Election Ban
The repair, maintenance and rehabilitation of irrigation facilities as well as BOT irrigation
projects shall be exempted from the scope of the election ban on public works.