How the next – or current – agriculture secretary can revitalize the industry

The rains of June have arrived; summer is officially over. The weather bureau said so and we hear the raindrops splattering on our roofs, although the heat is still sweltering on most days.

Aside from the rains though, what the month of June really signals is the first year of the Marcos administration. At noon of June 30, 2022, President Marcos was inaugurated as the country’s 17th president.

This is a good time to put the spotlight on agriculture, especially because our President is also the secretary of agriculture. I hope by now, one year later, the President has realized that with his hands full, it would be better to have a full time agriculture chief.

I’m hearing some names, including former Cabinet members from past administrations and an agri-entrepreneur. But one of those supposedly on the shortlist, a former agriculture secretary identified with a former president, may have a slim chance of getting appointed after the recent drama at the House of Representatives.

In any case, whoever will be the next agriculture chief will surely have a tough job.

Not many realize that the Department of Agriculture is one of the most, if not the most, important portfolio in the Cabinet. For one, people eat three times a day; thus the task of ensuring food security is the top priority for anyone taking the helm of the DA.

Dr. Cristino “Resty” Collado, president of the University of the Philippines Los Baños College of Agriculture and Food Science Alumni Association, has some ideas on how to revitalize the country’s critical but struggling agriculture industry.

He knows the industry like the back of his hand, having previously worked as undersecretary at the DA, serving two presidents and four DA secretaries. Aside from being a UPLB graduate – from that famous and dynamic Batch ’70 – he also has a Ph.D. in Agriculture from Japan’s Nagoya University.

We sat down one afternoon when he recently visited the UP Diliman campus in Quezon City.

Increasing rice productivity

We talked about increasing rice productivity. Dr. Collado believes that first of all, it’s important to focus on having an effective strategy to implement the rice programs.

For one, he suggests cascading down the plan to the provincial governors which, in a way, is sharing with them the burden and responsibility of producing the rice their province’s needs.

After all, it is the governors and mayors who are in touch with the farmers. It is no longer the different regional field offices of the DA.

The farmers know and listen to the LGUs’ provincial agriculture and municipal officers, Dr. Collado said.

In contrast, the present structure of the agriculture department is from the top down. I understand this to mean that plans and programs emanate from the top with hardly any consultation from those on the ground and implemented in a one-size-fits all manner. This isn’t always effective because different regions have different problems.

The government should also prioritize the allocation of the rice production budget. Those in the top 10 rice producing regions should be prioritized while the top performers can even be rewarded with a higher budget from the DA, Dr. Collado said.

Indeed, Dr. Collado said there is a need to heighten rice production in the country, which I very much agree with. Otherwise we may just end up as a rice importer.

From 2018 to 2021, total volume of rice the Philippines imported was 8.32 million metric tons or an average of 2.77 MMT.

To boost productivity, he said it was important to have adequate irrigation, improve soil fertility and have up-to-date farm management techniques.

Rice productivity summit

It would also be good for the DA secretary to convene a Rice Productivity Summit wherein governors of the Top 10 rice producing regions would be tasked to attend. These regions are: (from the top) Central Luzon, Western Visayas, Cagayan Valley, Soccsksargen, Ilocos region, Bangsamoro Region, MiMaRoPa, Bicol region, Eastern Visayas and the Zamboanga Peninsula.

The DA chief can present the department’s road map, goals and intensified rice production strategies at the summit. It can also be a venue to identify the priority in the distribution of farm tractors and how to have more cold storage and post-harvest facilities in the different regions.

Smuggling

Another issue we discussed is smuggling. I told Dr. Collado that smuggling is a problem that really needs to be addressed because it continues to damage the economy.

His suggested solution is that since most of the smuggled agri-products usually originate from China, Vietnam and Thailand, the DA should assign experienced and qualified agriculture attachés to these diplomatic posts.

The attachés should be made to watch out for agricultural goods to be shipped to the Philippines, secure copies of the shipment manifest and transmit such information to the DA and the Bureau of Customs, Dr. Collado said.

We discussed many other agriculture issues which I hope to share in this column later on.

During our chat, Dr. Collado’s batchmate from UPLB, Nilo Florcruz, a former manager of Victorias Milling Corp., joined us and we talked about other areas of agriculture, including sugar and spice.

It was an afternoon well spent and as a fellow UP alumni, I was glad to hear these ideas which I believe would surely help the country. That is, after all, what we learned from UP, to continue being of service to our beloved nation of 114 million.

For sure, these ideas can be useful to the current and future DA leadership and the country’s agriculture industry players.

*      *      *

Email: [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @eyesgonzales. Column archives at EyesWideOpen on FB.