Truly back to the farms under a new paradigm

Congress is due to agree soon on the proposed second installment of the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act (Bayanihan 2), with both houses set to iron out only minor differences in the proposed version in the next few days.

Even if the allocated amounts intended to reboot micro, small, and medium enterprises are the biggest single items in both the Senate and Lower House bills (P50 billion and P51 billion, respectively), it will still not be enough to save the thousands of businesses that have closed or are at the brink of closing down.

The amount allotted to the agricultural sector (P17 billion and P20 billion in the Senate and Lower House, respectively) is also far lower than the P66 billion that the Department of Agriculture (DA) is asking for.

Still, with both versions almost in agreement and even aligned with the ballpark figure set by the economic team, all of this bodes well for the coming bicameral talks.

Hopefully, we will see a Bayanihan 2 law signed by the President before the month-end, and monetary help for all sectors distressed by the economic turnabout made available, notwithstanding the nasty scandal unfolding about PhilHealth ghosted disbursements.

Business is getting less antsy as the government continues to favor a more balanced view about quarantines, even with the rising levels of infection. Everyone will just have to be more prudent in ensuring that any further relaxation in reopening next week will be better managed to keep infections from spiking anew.

Change has come

In the midst of the red ink that has drowned almost all sectors of the economy, it is somewhat comforting to hear that the agriculture sector managed to grow by 1.6 percent during the first half of the year, rising from the setback of the first quarter caused by the Taal Volcano eruption and a slew of other problems.

Rice and corn managed to post increased harvests, and those two sectors have been able to compensate for the productivity decline in the livestock and poultry sectors affected by the African swine fever.

Finally, we’re seeing state money moving into the sector, with the DA reporting that it has dispensed more than half of its allocated budget for the year, a stark reversal over the last few years which prodded Congress to reduce the DA’s annual budgets.

It is William Dar’s second year as DA chief, and his appointment has certainly made a difference for the department, which many of his predecessors had found too challenging to resuscitate. Agriculture, however, still gets one of the lowest appropriations in the annual state budget, considered one of the lowest allocations in the world as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP).

Dar has been rallying his men and women at the DA, many demoralized or desensitized because of a string of scandals involving the department in past decades, by refocusing on the basic task of change and the twin objectives of increasing productivity and raising earnings in the sector.

Change, indeed, seems to be coming to the agriculture sector, which coincidentally has been given another impetus to act with more urgency by the emergence of this pandemic.

Razor-like focus

Let’s all keep our fingers crossed that the DA’s performance in the second quarter of the year is no fluke, and that there will be no new natural disasters, or a different kind of pestilence will affect harvests and livestock for the remaining half of the year.

Coping with the pandemic has proven to be more than a handful for the DA during the lockdowns as it ironed out kinks in the food supply chain caused by the numerous bureaucratic local government checkpoints. This had also taken much of the DA’s time in keeping up with its programs.

But all this is now history as the DA seems to have capably adjusted to the new normal times.

In line with the new paradigm being followed by the DA that was kick-started last year when Dar took the helm, technologically enhanced farm equipment appropriate to raising land and fishing productivity and competitiveness, are being distributed to farmers and fishermen.

The DA is also pursuing its program to encourage small farmers and fishermen to cluster and consolidate so they can benefit from modern tools that will allow productivity, processing, and marketing enhancements to pay off.

More importantly, the DA is batting for a four-fold increase in it’s 2021 budget, which in principle had already been given the green light by the economic team and the President. This amount should include the P46 billion or so that will not be included in the Bayanihan 2 stimulus package.

As the DA Secretary has pointed out, and robustly supported in a consensual vote of members of the National Agriculture and Fisheries Council, the work has just begun – and a laser-like focus needs to be maintained to attain the agreed objectives.

Many challenges in the coming months will make the agriculture sector an interesting watch, especially if the P280 billion, plus P46 billion that the DA is asking for in 202, will be given. The pandemic is a good wakeup call that emphasizes the importance of putting money where our mouth is.

Here’s hoping that our politicians and lawmakers are more convinced now that the new paradigm only points to the importance of going back to the farms.

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