BBM’s 1st SONA: What we want to hear

With President Marcos (BBM) expressing food security as his priority almost from the first day he assumed office, we can expect this to take up a large part of his speech during his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) this coming Monday.

To many Filipinos, the issue of food security is more related to high prices, especially with pork and chicken costs at certain points during the last few months jarringly rising by double digits. After enjoying years of low inflation, such price rises have been unsettling to a point that even a popular government may find too difficult to handle.

Definitely, such is not the kind of problem that BBM would want on his first year of office, especially when the cost of living becomes unbearably high for daily wage workers who comprise more than half of the country’s population.

The nation will definitely want to hear what the President will do to temper high food prices, which unfortunately is something largely influenced by factors beyond his – or for that matter, many of the world’s leaders’ – control and influence.

The reality is that, as long as the pandemic, wars, and even climate disturbances threaten to disrupt world supply chains and crude oil pricing in a way that we’ve seen these last two years, a return to the more normal pacing in everyday living cannot be expected.

Still, BBM must talk about the steps his government plans to cushion the pain that Filipinos are currently bearing and will be forced to put up with for at least a few more months to come.

Paradigm shift

Central to tackling food security for the country will be what BBM will commit in the area of agriculture, not just during his first 100 days, but extending to his full six years in office. Let’s hope he doesn’t  just dress up the old, but popular programs that endeared his father to Filipinos half a century ago, with some magniloquence, and pass it off as the solution.

Filipinos certainly deserve to hear a sensible program that guarantees to revitalize the country’s agricultural sector, such that our farmers can comfortably live while producing enough food at reasonable prices for this growing nation.

We’ll know for sure if BBM is serious about food security and our agriculture sector, if and when he commits to raising three or four times more what has been the normal budgetary allocation in recent  years, for the rest of his term.

Of course, while the amount that the government will apportion to agriculture is important and decently compares to what other developing economies like India, Vietnam, or Thailand commit, a clear action plan promising a paradigm shift and a positive result is equally important.

True land reform

As concurrent chief of the Department of Agriculture, BBM holds the key to bringing relevance back to Philippine agriculture. Radical and relevant reforms need to be introduced to bring productivity back to the land.

We must learn from the follies of the land reform programs implemented in the ‘80s, whose objectives were focused more on the abolition of tenancy and “redistribution” and parceling of land rather than on promoting agriculture as a major contributor to economic growth.

We now know that our farmers can only compete against their peers in other countries if they are able to employ comparable farming systems. Optimum land sizes, efficient mechanization and irrigation, and competitive farm inputs like improved seeds and cost-effective fertilizer and pesticide use are just a few areas that need to be thoroughly reviewed.

The basis for true land reform must be laid out and implemented during the first year of BBM’s term. To dilly-dally in putting together the foundation for change would risk losing precious momentum, which could lead to the issue of food security and agricultural reform being once again swept to the fringes of government affairs.

Private sector investments

A comprehensive review of existing laws must lead to barriers being lifted and the right incentives introduced. More investments are needed in the countryside, and the government should not carry this burden alone. The private sector must be encouraged to see value, not just from farming, but in other areas of the whole supply chain.

Export of agricultural produce must be a key objective. The right motivation can push more investments to improve productivity. This need not be confined to fruits, vegetables, and grains, but also for livestock, poultry, and fish.

Area-based development must form part of the food security roadmap. Local governments must be coaxed to participate in the master plan based on their appraisal of resources. BBM must inspire a new revolution in agriculture, one that will make it a major contributor to economic growth.

More attention must be given to strengthening the supply network of roads, bridges, and ports that will allow the smooth flow of goods from the farm to consumers. Here, the government must commit to spending more.

Poverty alleviation

Enriching the agricultural sector is a great poverty alleviation strategy, where new sources of wealth can be made available to the rural areas through more jobs and meaningful employment of people living outside cities.

This should effectively discourage the migration of people from the countryside to already overcrowded cities where their lack of competitive skills will often land them jobs that are poorly paid.

This kind of food security is what the nation truly needs, where people can afford to buy food without compromising on the education of their children or accepting living conditions that demean human dignity.

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