Back in the days of Kennedy & Nixon, when there was a very strong anti-war movement in the United States, one of the most iconic protest slogans was “Make love not war.” Last Saturday, as I continued watching foreign news updates on the war in Ukraine, I learned from a news report what Ukrainian farmers are doing to support their war against Russian occupation, which gives them a special status. Not only is it something new to me but it brings home the importance of farmers, agriculture and how countries that are experiencing similar threats should start thinking, not just militarily, but also in terms of food security.
The next regional conflict in our part of the world may be all about food and not necessarily bombs. It is encouraging that many of our presidential and senatorial candidates are in agreement that Agriculture should be a top priority of the next administration, but I wonder how many of them are truly determined to prioritize food security in view of a possible “Food War” in the Asian region? As for Ukraine, they are now coming to terms with the reality that even as they are beating back the Russian invaders, their next problem is food and water, followed by medicine and eventually housing, to replace what the Russians leveled to the ground.
So, what got my curiosity about Ukrainian farmers? Well, according to a group that was recently interviewed, not all Ukrainian men from the age of 18 up to 60 are required to report for active duty and take up arms. It seems that those actively involved in the agriculture sector, particularly in food production, are given a 6-month exemption from going to the frontlines and instead they have to carry on performing an equally important role of producing and providing food for the civilians as well as those serving in the Territorial Defense Force and the Ukrainian military. This special status, if we can call it that, is also the kind of recognition that people and governments around the world need to incorporate in the way they view and treat farmers. In the Philippines, we need to equip, capacitate and finance farmers and not treat them as “poor,” illiterate or “beneficiaries” of bureaucrats.
As the first Ukrainian farmer explained their exemption, a second livestock farmer showed how they continued caring for dairy cows that produce milk, cheese and raising cattle for beef in spite of the sound of explosions in the distance. During this war, the work of farmers has been doubled because they must now find feed for their livestock while trying to stay out of harm’s way. As they produce the necessary products, another set of volunteers would collect these and deliver to shelters, hospitals etc.
Even as bombs were raining in the area, the featured farmers were so focused on what they had to do that they were more concerned with finding extra workers who would help them plant the fields with wheat and corn since spring recently started and the weather now makes it possible to start preparing the land for sowing of the new crops. One farmer even showed huge barns filled with corn that he desperately wanted to clear in time for the next harvest.
Aside from farmers maintaining livestock, grains and essential fruits and vegetables, another group of professionals are reportedly exempted from active duty. These are veterinarians and farm technicians who provide medical care for livestock or are involved in the feed and care of animals and plants. This makes total sense since the vets and technicians are the counterparts of doctors and nurses in the farm settings. One vet explained that the recent bombings and explosions have affected the livestock, so veterinarians have to double up on care and treatment of animals that are highly susceptible to stress which affects their productivity in milk production, birthing, etc.
The exemption of farmers, vets and technicians from active duty is the only story I have seen so far regarding agriculture and food security in the month-long war. But what has begun to increase are stories about food shortages in Ukraine and in border areas where refugees have flooded. One of our Filipina friends now working in Poland as a volunteer shared that if Filipinos were on the ground, we could probably help fast track or quickly reduce the processing since we are so experienced with calamities, emergency evacuations and the like. But in spite of all that, we have not yet learned to set up a nationwide production system in the Philippines for livestock such as hogs, poultry and cattle and vegetables at a level that local supplies are ample and constant. In fact, in spite of all the excessive importation or smuggling of food products, pricing is so sensitive and unstable that consumers always suffer price hikes while farmers either have severe shortages or end up over producing and dumping their harvests or produce.
This suggests that in spite of all the talk at the Department of Agriculture (DA) there is reason to believe that master plans and production plans are all office table versions that are neither partially nor fully implemented on the ground. I have yet to see provincial, regional or national production programs for cattle, hogs and poultry that are designed by the DA and supervised. Agricultural production in the Philippines has largely been private sector driven. The only time the DA or government is heard from is when there is a crisis such as the African swine fever or an outbreak of bird flu. In the absence of actual plans and programs on a national scale, it follows that support programs such as breeding stocks, vaccinations, farm to barangay market sales etc. come in the form of lip service or bare compliance. The DA often uses the Local Government Code as their excuse but if food security equals national security, then we have serious reason to be insecure big time!