As the Willie Nelson song goes, “I’m on the road again…” and as we drove through the new and still being completed Malico road that cuts travel time from Pangasinan to Nueva Vizcaya, I found myself humming to the tune of Rocky Mountain High. As hard as an 8-hour car ride may seem, it all becomes worth it as you take in new scenes and undiscovered beauty of the Philippines.
What made it special was that I reconnected with my friends from BMeg up in northern Luzon where I was invited as a volunteer speaker in a BMeg Fiestahan event in the town of Benito Soliven, Isabela. I gladly volunteer for these events and opportunity to speak about my experiences and knowledge as a backyard hog raiser, gamefowl breeder and poultry raising. I also point out the many advantages in using BMeg feeds and San Miguel Animal Health Products.
In return I find myself “on the ground” connecting with business owners, professionals, backyard farmers who all share stories, experiences as well as complaints. I also get to see for myself how national policies or decisions in Imperial Manila ultimately bless or curse ordinary Filipinos beyond Metro Manila.
Even before the COVID pandemic, politics and governance, especially the introduction of the local government code and autonomy in the Philippines, practically wiped out “agricultural extension workers” who are the primary consultant, assistant and “partners” of farmers and backyard agricultural producers.
Where there are no extension workers or veterinarians, you will eventually observe low agricultural productivity, high incidence of disease and mismanagement of crops or livestock, resulting to low profitability and ultimately a generational reduction of farmers. You can look at YouTube all you want but no one is physically present to help you, the supplies don’t come out of the screen and even an experienced rooster man and hog raiser such as myself still needs to “call a friend” for veterinary advice or rely on a laboratory for scientific confirmation.
In Isabela, I got to chat with a number of experts and vets working in several regions of Northern Luzon and I was once again reminded that all of the hard work and CSR done by animal feeds companies such as BMeg alongside the investments and hard work of producers from micro to medium scale are killed or neutralized by the continued importation of pork, chicken, onions and garlic, etc.
In spite of cries and warnings from onion farmers not to allow importation to arrive during harvest season, the DA did so. Last Wednesday, the highway from Nueva Vizcaya to Isabela was lined with sacks of local large red onions selling for P50 a kilo and there were barely any buyers. Small yellow ginger was selling at P100 for five or six kilos depending on the quality. Right in the mix were sacks of imported large white garlic from China. I simply turned my back because I did not want to be an accessory to murder of garlic farms and Philippine agriculture.
When I spoke with veterinarians covering poultry and layer farms, they say that profitability of growers has also been affected by importation because current data suggest that the volume of imported meats and poultry is equal if not greater than the local production. Local farmers eventually lose on the combined effects of price dumping by importers and the volume of smuggled pork and chicken that is sold even lower than the legally imported meats.
In other words, unless President/DA Secretary Bongbong Marcos decides to strictly regulate and schedule importations based on calendar of harvest, available stock and buffer, he would be guilty of omission and complicit in the ultimate “Murder by Importation” of Philippine agriculture. Many industry leaders are not anti-importation, being aware that we do not sufficiently produce total requirements plus buffer.
What all sectors oppose is the pro-importation stance of the Department of Agriculture, the absence of rationale in schedules of importations and arrivals and the suspected intentional non-monitoring of imported products in terms of stock, location and handling. With the right hand, the President wants to create more jobs and increase the growth of the local economy. But with the left hand he approves importation that does not create jobs and only increases the wealth of a small group of Filipino-Chinese businessmen.
In my column last Wednesday titled “Save our dying hog industry” I mentioned the system of border controls that is in effect in several developed countries with a strong agriculture sector. In particular, I mentioned Australia that has very, very, very strict rules and implementation regarding the entry of any agricultural product or food item, whether large or in pocket-sized quantities.
I have heard from at least two Filipinos about being stopped by customs/quarantine screeners and asked if they were carrying such items. Turns out they simply had a bag of peanuts or a sandwich served on the flight which they placed in a bag. After a few minutes of fright and tension they were told “it’s not allowed, and you should have declared it.” That is how Australia protects its agricultural industry from disease and pest. Another friend told me that it’s not easy to “hand carry” chicken eggs across states. “You get checked and nailed at the provincial border, mate!”
In spite of the inherent checks, restrictions and inconvenience, many people seemed to like my suggestion that every region, province, municipality be encouraged if not mandated by law to start developing its internal agricultural industry towards self-sufficiency. This would bring back original residents and locals to invest in their hometown, put up businesses related to the agricultural supply chain, it would create a redistribution of income and definitely create so many “local jobs.” Can someone please share this with PBBM – PLEASE?
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