Agricultural Policy Overview

Study Notes

Resource conservation and environmental protection: Policies aim to address externality issues, such as pollution and resource depletion, that impact the environment.
Public goods and services provision: Policies incentivize private sector investments in essential infrastructure like irrigation, roads, and market facilities, which benefit the public and may be unattractive to private investors.
Market imperfections: Policies address imbalances in market power between different societal sectors, promoting fairness and competition.
Equity and quality of life: Policies strive for equitable income distribution and improved living standards for all sectors of society.

Different levels: Policies are implemented at global, national, and local levels.
- Global: trade liberalization under the World Trade Organization (WTO)
- National: Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act (AFMA, RA 8435), Organic Agriculture Act (RA 10068), Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (RA 6657).
- Local: bans on plastic use, promotion of household vegetable gardening, urban farming programs.
Different government entities: Policy formulation and implementation involve diverse government entities.
- Philippine legislature or Congress: enacts Republic Acts (national laws) signed by the President.
- Philippine Executive department (President): issues General Orders, Presidential Decrees, Executive Orders.
- Specific agencies (e.g., Department of Agriculture): issues Administrative Orders, Memorandum Circulars, Special Orders.
- Local Government Units (LGUs): issue ordinances for local control (e.g., regulating coconut tree cutting).

RA 8435: Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act (1997): Aims to modernize the agriculture and fisheries sector.
RA 8550: Philippine Fisheries Code (1998): Establishes regulations and guidelines for the Philippine fisheries sector.
RA 8048: Coconut Preservation Act (1995): Aims to preserve and enhance the coconut industry which is a significant part of the Philippine economy.
RA 11203: Rice Tariffication Law (2019): Introduced tariffs on rice imports and provided support for local rice farmers.
EO 481: Organic Agriculture Promotion (2005): Aims to implement and promote organic agriculture practices in the Philippines.
DA MC 04: Climate Resilient Agriculture (2020): Encourages the development of climate-resilient agricultural practices to combat climate change impacts.
DA MC 15: Food Safety During COVID-19 (2020): Outlined food safety guidelines for the agriculture and fisheries sector during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Output or input effects: Policies may influence production output or input costs (e.g., price supports, fertilizer subsidies).
Economic activity stage: Policies may target specific stages of production, postharvest processing, marketing, or trade.
Commodity or subsector: Policies are designed for specific commodities or subsectors, like food, non-food, export crops, livestock, poultry, grains, vegetables, fisheries, and root crops.
Others: Policies concerning credit, land reform, irrigation, mechanization, research and development (R&D), and cooperative development.

Policy agenda setting and problem/issue identification: Help to define policy priorities and identify the underlying problems that need to be addressed.
Policy formulation, design, and analysis: Analyze policy options and recommend solutions based on economic principles.
Adoption and implementation of policies and programs: Provide expertise to ensure that policies are implemented effectively.
Policy monitoring and evaluation: Evaluate the effectiveness of policy implementation and determine if adjustments are needed.

Understanding of issues: Provide in-depth knowledge of the economic aspects of various agricultural problems.
Impact assessment: Identify and measure both the anticipated (ex-ante) and actual (ex-post) economic consequences of different policies.
Framework development: Utilize theoretical frameworks to explain complex economic relationships.
Quantitative analysis: Employ analytical tools and empirical evidence to support policy recommendations.