CONTINUING NEGLECT OF AGRICULTURE
The Philippine Star
02/01/10
Warnings about the El Nino comeback and its harsh effects on water and food supplies are once again hogging the headlines. For the following months until May, the weather bureau has predicted the country will likely experience below normal rainfall and dry spells. Experts have warned the phenomenon may dampen output at crop-producing regions.
We have been assured, however, by the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the National Food Authority (NFA) that the supply of rice – still the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population – will be enough to meet local demand at least for the next 12 months.
According to data from the DA, the country lost 2.36 million tons of rice when a moderate El Nino hit in 1998. The government is still assessing how much the volume of rice production will drop this year, but the message is that with or without El Nino, our country is now in a better stock position following the massive rice importation it made late last year for 2010 requirements.
Contrary view
Despite the government's assurance, however, media reports said the Philippines may need to buy between 500,000 and one million tons overseas this year, citing a US Rice Producers' Association report published early this month.
The estimated 2.2 million tons of rice imported by NFA for delivery this year are feared not enough because of El Nino, the periodic shift in air pressure accompanied by the abnormal oceanic warming in the tropical Pacific.
The international markets for commodities are looking at the Philippines as a key buyer of rice whose purchases affect pricing. We are now the world's biggest rice importer, which is not necessarily a nice distinction as it only shows how bad things have turned out for a nation that many years ago had displayed great potential of becoming a net exporter of rice.
Not enough production
Asia accounts for more than 90 percent of global rice harvests. But while the Philippines may still be one of the 10 biggest rice producers in the world, our domestic output is not enough to feed the entire population that is now approaching the 100 million mark.
We have grown increasingly dependent on our neighbors such as Thailand and Vietnam for rice supply.
Agricultural productivity in this country has declined and may further dwindle, and experts are putting the blame on the government – past and present administrations – for neglecting the sector and paying little attention to the issue of food security and the welfare of our farmers.
Volatile world prices
With supply becoming tight while demand continues to rise, prices of rice and other agricultural commodities will naturally go up. That was what happened in 2008, when rice prices surged to a record in world markets – after India and other exporting countries curbed shipments.
Amid speculations that the Philippines will need to buy more rice from other countries, benchmark prices in world markets are feared to shoot up once more.
Equally disturbing are recent news about prices of sugar soaring and hitting as high as P60 per kilo in Metro Manila, also because local supply is dwindling. To prevent a more chaotic situation, the NFA has reportedly decided to import up to 150,000 metric tons of sugar at zero tariff.
It will be the first time in eight years, according to reports, that the Philippines will return to the offshore market for sugar imports.
Agriculture platform
All of these are signs that point to the sad predicament of our agriculture sector, which now begs the question, "What exactly does each of the presidential aspirants plan to do in tackling the issue of food security if elected on May 10?"
All of them have been talking about their promises to fight poverty and end hunger, yet nobody has presented a clear vision for developing the agriculture sector. Will they continue what previous administrations had wrongfully done, which was to shift focus of developmental efforts away from agriculture to the industry and services sectors?
Poverty persists
According to a 2008 survey of the United Nation's Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (Escap), about 60 percent of the working population in Asia Pacific is still making a living through agriculture-related jobs.
However, efforts by the governments in Asia Pacific, including the Philippines', to develop the agriculture sector have been insufficient. This is the reason, according to Escap, why poverty persists in the region.
Developmental programs of the past and present Philippine administrations were geared toward developing the country into an industrialized nation. In recent years, more attention has also been given to the services sector.
The agriculture has obviously been overlooked and that is why poverty has even worsened particularly in the countryside. For instance, experts noted that the country in the early 1990s was losing irrigated rice lands at a rate of 2,300 hectares per year because of the rampant conversion of agricultural lands into golf courses, residential subdivisions, and industrial parks or resorts.
While there were efforts to modernize the agriculture sector, these did not gain much traction because of inadequate resources for the funding of critical projects, such as the construction of efficient irrigation systems.
No motherhood statements, please
The presidential candidates currently courting our votes and promising a better future should spell out their broad view and specific action program on how each one would tackle the issue of food security and arrest the further decline of the agriculture sector. We need to see concrete action plans including key people who will implement these plans and programs.
The issue of food security is so important that we should not be satisfied with being fed with mere generic motherhood statements.
Should you wish to share any insights, write me at Link Edge, 25th Floor, 139 Corporate Center, Valero Street, SalcedoVillage, 1227 MakatiCity. Or e-mail me at reydgamboa@yahoo.com. For a compilation of previous articles, visit www.BizlinksPhilippines.net
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