Part III of the report focuses on repurposing public investments to ensure food security for all.

This chapter reviews the status and effectiveness of public spending in agriculture and the impacts of financial and functional devolution resulting from the Mandanas Ruling, and outlines key priority actions to achieve the medium to long-term agenda of enhancing agriculture productivity and strengthening domestic food security.

Ensuring food security and sustained agriculture growth have been hampered by underinvestment in public goods in agriculture. The continued focus on supporting rice production has come at the expense of other agricultural products. As a result, Filipino consumers pay a very high price for food at approximately 40% higher than the regional comparators. Sustaining agriculture growth is further complicated by the ongoing devolution resulting from the Mandanas Ruling of the Supreme Court, which transfers greater responsibilities for and financing of agriculture programs to local government units (LGUs).

In terms of key recommendations, to take full advantage of the opportunities arising from the new strategic directions of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the devolution of more responsibilities to LGUs, agricultural public expenditure policies must address three critical challenges: (i) changing strategic focus from an objective of self-sufficiency in specific commodities to align better with the administration’s ambition of improving sectoral competitiveness and resilience to ensure food security for all, (ii) improving effectiveness of the current spending, and (iii) dealing effectively with the public expenditure issues related to devolution.