QUEZON CITY | March 18, 2022 – Deputy Executive Director (DED) for Pesticide Eric Divinagracia presented FPA’s 2023 Plan and Budget proposal amounting to Php 346.7 million during the Internal Budget Hearing of the Department of Agriculture.

Table 1. FY 2023 Proposed Budget

As shown in the Table 1, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) provided Php 146,373,000 (Tier 1) which is 6% lower than the 2022 General Appropriation Act (GAA) of Php 156,208,000. For the second phase of construction of the new laboratory building, the implementation of Balanced Fertilization Strategy and other major projects, the FPA requested for an additional Php 200,284,00 (Tier 2 proposals).

The FY 2023 proposed budget is divided into five parts.

First, personnel services have been allocated Php 103,657,000 or 29.9%. The personnel services include the filling up of vacant positions and the allocation for Magna Carta Benefits for newly certified Laboratory Services Division (LSD) personnel.

Second, the overhead cost, which includes the maintenance and other operating expenses of the General and Administrative Support Services, is Php 148,197,000 or 42.75%.  The higher overhead cost was due to the 2nd phase construction of the laboratory building with an allocated budget of PhP 81.9 million. To date, 85.30% of Phase 1 has been accomplished and due to be finished by June 22, 2022.  Moreover, a Php 6.3M is allotted to the Medium-Term Information and Communications Technology Harmonization Initiative which is focused on the new applications and gadgets on monitoring and database of fertilizer and pesticide handlers and products.

Third, regulatory items have a total budget cost Php 91,803,000 or 26.4%. The budget will include maintenance and other operating expenses of quality control and inspection, and registration and licensing.

Lastly, projects/programs have a budget of Php 3,000 or 0.87%. This pertains to the implementation of the fortified organic fertilizer development project.

For FY 2023, DED Divinagracia also emphasized that FPA will continually aim to improve fertilizer and pesticide monitoring and enforcement, widen public awareness with proper handling of fertilizer and pesticide products, align activities and processes with international standards, and ensure transparency and accountability with clients, partners, and other stakeholders.

Table 2. Key Interventions for Masaganang Ani

For FY2023, FPA shall target 21,600 visits to fertilizer and pesticide handlers, 118,800 product inspection, and 160 trainings (Table 2).

DED Divinagracia also presented the accomplishments of FPA for 2021. There are 20,577 regulatory documents issued, 21,750 fertilizer and pesticide handlers visited, 80,858 fertilizer and pesticide products monitored, and 415 notice of violations issued for the FY 2021. FPA also conducted 149 online trainings and symposia, and ran 1,160 fertilizer and pesticide laboratory tests.

Most notable of these accomplishments were the recognitions FPA received such as the following: a Central Office-wide ISO 9001:2015 certification from TUV Rheinland, an ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accreditation from the Philippine Accreditation Bureau (PAB) for laboratory services, a certification of (Freedom of Information) FOI compliance from the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO), FPA as book publisher, a commendation from the Department of Finance for Tradenet onboarding, and FPA’s qualification for Performance-Based Bonus (PBB).

Source:

Budget Hearing in the Department of Agriculture on March 18, 2022.