Broken

Philippine Agriculture is broken.

Unfortunately, it is so broken and fragmented that leaders and players cannot or won’t see beyond their piece of the fragments. They have grown so accustomed to their ways and their surroundings that they even refer to it as systems even if it is systematic mismanagement of the environment and resources. What we call progress is nothing more than the limited introduction of technology, a penchant for crafting names and titles for so-called programs that are innately just a better version of “hand to mouth” production or corporate commercial “slash and burn” where they come in, set-up shop and when the going gets rough, they get going towards another business.

Planners, leaders and so-called experts insist on “modernization” through technology, corporate cooperative farming and high value products while denying the fact that they are failing to meet the most basic purpose of agriculture at its primal stage: To feed ordinary Filipinos with food they can grow or afford. Their obsession with charts, trends and comparisons with neighboring countries have led them to betray the most basic and vital component of agriculture in the Philippines: the barangays and the farmers within. Whether it is in the province or right in Metro Manila, we have farmers, different lifestyles and methods but with the same purpose: to produce food. The people with the most power and influence over Philippine agriculture have filled it with ideas, ideas, ideas but have miserably failed to successfully implement, sustain and institutionalize such ideas and programs forward and beyond. Every new government brings in a new batch of clueless appointees or newbies who are treated like a new chew toys by the old dogs in the farm. Good and sensible projects and programs get shelved or are piled on by surveys, news clippings and vested interest proposals.

We either dabble nationally while many individuals invest in it as “hobby farms” or for “Fun & Profit” but not quite seriously and consistently as needed.  Sadly, agriculture is viewed as either the poor man’s lot or the rich person’s past time. Feeding people and growing the economy should not be a burden nor a game. I remember how one of today’s most influential leaders in Philippine business tried to convince me to get out of tourism once and on another occasion told me that agriculture requires too much time and takes too long for ROI or Return On Investment. He now runs the biggest food/agriculture-based mega corporations in the region. Sen. Francis Pangilinan, who also “dabbles” in agriculture, recently pointed out on our TV program AGENDA that the former King of Thailand Bhumibol Adulyadeh was so into agriculture that he dedicated about five to seven hectares of his palace to demonstration farms. Thailand, he added, invested more than a trillion Baht a year and got multiple returns from exports.

Philippine agriculture today is being treated the same way many past administrations treated tourism. That industry was treated as second class, the runt of the litter as far as income and importance was concerned, and only after many supporters and the media consistently made noise and pushed for better management and funding by government did we finally realize that tourism is a major employer, dollar earner, highly beneficial image builder and effectively spreads wealth in the countryside. But now that COVID-19 has all but shut down tourism worldwide, what do we replace it with?  Agriculture of course!

But here is where we get mud in the face. “You reap what you sow” and unfortunately the National Government and Congress did not sow what was really needed. It is not just about sowing money but literally getting down and dirty to find out what is wrong and why Philippine agriculture is broken. We cannot keep throwing money at it without fixing, repairing or even replacing what is broken. Whether it takes two years or ten, we should begin by recognizing the enormous potential of agriculture as our game changer and then determining piece by piece what the broken and fragmented parts are and dealing with them, not simply patching things up or covering them with something else. Projects must reach the ground and someone made responsible and in-charge!

Why should fishermen have to go many kilometers out to sea when every coastal barangay can be required to facilitate or assist in setting up floating fish cages for lapu-lapu, talakitok (Jack) or samaral.  These fish can be fed by setting up inland tilapia ponds and use the same for crab (alimango) farming. Every barangay should be required to promote the breeding-restocking of native chickens, inclusive of vaccinations alongside dispersal of turkey, pigeons, ducks, etc. They can even have grow your own projects for broilers, catfish. Many people don’t plant because they think they don’t have green thumbs and or because seeds are quite expensive in supermarkets. In Metro Manila most people have to commute to the DA office in Quezon City just for seeds. Why not distribute those same seeds to all barangays? The government gives money for projects inside exclusive villages such as multipurpose gyms but can’t make the effort to thoroughly distribute seeds and instruction booklets to every barangay.

The DA folks might say: “But we’re already doing all of that! ” The question is how thoroughly are you doing it, based on what programs, backed with what funding, what is the extent of your public information campaign and what is the reach or volume of actual, successful participation for each and every program? Are there barangay based agri-project officers paid and tasked to make sure these ideas are coming to life?

Last but not the least and this I know hardly exists: why is it that we have not promoted a barangay based, community dedicated produce market where you can sell your produce at a VERY minimum fee for space?  I place these here just to point out that if we failed in the small things we fail in the big.  Broken so we are!