The Philippine Department of Agriculture (abbreviated as DA; Filipino: Kagawaran ng Pagsasaka), is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for the promotion of agricultural and fisheries development and growth. It has its headquarters at Elliptical Road corner Visayas Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City.
The department is currently led by the Secretary of Agriculture, nominated by the President of the Philippines and confirmed by the Commission on Appointments. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet. The current Secretary of Agriculture is Manny Piñol.
The Department of Agriculture had its beginnings when President Emilio Aguinaldo established the Department of Agriculture and Manufacturing on June 23, 1898. Jose Alejandrino was appointed the first Secretary.
Under United States administration
In 1901, under the American colonial government, priority was given to the development of other agricultural products, such as rice and other basic commodities, as well as fishing, forestry, and mining. This new focus necessitated the establishment of the insular Bureau of Agriculture. This bureau was put under the Department of the Interior through Philippine Legislature's Act No. 271. It was later put under the supervision of the Department of Public Instruction in 1910.
The first Filipino to head the Bureau under the American occupation is Adriano Hernandez, who was himself a practicing farmer.
The Bureau of Agriculture grew rapidly until it was abolished by the enactment of Act No. 2666, otherwise known as "An Act to Re-organize the Executive Department of the Government of the Philippine Islands," on November 18, 1916, and was implemented on January 1, 1917. This act provided for the establishment of the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (DANR), which would take over direct executive control, direction, and supervision of the Bureaus of Agriculture, Forestry, Lands, Science, and Weather, as well as all matters concerning hunting, fisheries, sponges and other sea products, and such others as may be assigned to it by law.
By virtue of another reorganization act (through Act No. 4007) in 1932, the DANR became the Department of Agriculture and Commerce. The Bureau of Commerce, which used to be under the Department of Commerce and Communication, was placed under the reorganized Department.
In 1942, while the Commonwealth Government was in exile, the Department was re-organized again, becoming the Department of Finance, Agriculture and Commerce. Upon the resumption of the Commonwealth in February 1945, it became the Department of Justice, Agriculture and Commerce, and then back to being the Department of Agriculture and Commerce in December of the same year.
In 1947, it was renamed again as the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources by virtue of Executive Order No. 94 by Pres. Manuel Roxas. The Bureau of Commerce, among others, was incorporated to the newly created Department of Commerce and Industry.
On September 14, 1959, the DANR moved to its current building in Diliman, Quezon City from the Agrifina Circle (now the Teodoro Valencia Circle) in Manila.
By virtue of Presidential Decree 461, signed into law by Pres. Ferdinand Marcos, the DANR was split in May 1974 into two departments: the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Natural Resources (which later became the current DENR).
After the shift to the parliamentary system in 1978, all departments were changed to ministries. Thus, the office became the Ministry of Agriculture and Food until 1987, when the department was renamed again as the Department of Agriculture, through Pres. Corazon Aquino's Executive Order No. 116.
The same EO mandated the DA to promote agricultural development by providing the policy framework, public investment, and support services, which are needed for domestic and export-oriented business enterprises. Guided by the principle that agriculture is business, the DA implemented policy and institutional reforms that freed the agriculture markets, enabling farmers to enjoy higher farmgate prices. These reforms included the dismantling of agricultural monopolies and the elimination of agricultural taxes. Reforms in the agricultural credit system, such as the phase-out of the direct lending scheme, was also initiated.
In May 2014, pursuant to Executive Order No. 165, four agencies representing three-quarters of the DA's budget — the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority, the National Food Authority, the National Irrigation Administration, and the Philippine Coconut Authority — were removed from DA control. This was part of the anti-corruption reforms which followed the pork barrel scam. The four agencies are now directly under the Office of the President, where they are overseen by the Presidential Assistant for Food Security and Agricultural Modernization.
- Assistant Secretary for Administration
- Assistant Secretary for Field Operations
- Assistant Secretary for Finance
- Assistant Secretary for Fisheries
- Assistant Secretary for Livestock
Under the Office of the Secretary are the following offices and services:
- Administrative Service
- Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Service
- Field Operations Service
- Financial Management Service
- Information and Communications Technology Service
- Internal Audit Service
- Legal Service
- Planning Service
- Policy Research Service
- Project Development Service
A regional executive director is assigned to each of the 17 regions of the Philippines.
The DA is composed of eight bureaus, namely:
- Agricultural Training Institute (ATI)
- Bureau of Agricultural and Fisheries Product Standards (BAFPS), which has been renamed Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standards under R.A. No. 10601
- Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR)
- Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS)
- Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI)
- Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR)
- Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI)
- Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM)
- Bureau of Agricultural and Fisheries Engineering (BAFE), new bureau under R.A. No. 10601
The following agencies, corporations and councils are attached to the DA for policy and program coordination:
- Agricultural Credit and Policy Council (ACPC)
- Cotton Development Administration (CODA)
- Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority (PhilFIDA)
- National Agricultural and Fishery Council (NAFC)
- National Dairy Authority (NDA)
- National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI)
- National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS)
- National Tobacco Administration (NTA)
- Philippine Carabao Center (PCC)
- Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech)
- Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC)
- Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA)
- Philippine Rice Research Institute (Philrice)
- Quedan Rural Credit and Guarantee Corporation (QUEDANCOR)
- Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC)
- Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA)
- Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA)
- National Food Authority (NFA)
- National Irrigation Administration (NIA)
- Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA)