The Middle East crisis and Philippine agriculture
During the 2008 global financial crisis, Rahm Emanuel said: “Never let a good crisis go to waste.”
This concept appears very early in the writings of Roman philosopher Seneca (first century AD). He wrote that misfortune is a test that allows good people to grow stronger.
The Middle East crisis poses serious problems for Philippine agriculture. Our global supply chains are jeopardized, with less access to the agriculture imports we need. We must grow stronger by taking this opportunity to implement critical agriculture reforms.
Last March 11, we interviewed Director Glenn Panganiban of the Bureau of Plant Industry. He talked to us from Rome, where he is currently getting valuable ideas on this topic at a Food and Agriculture Organization conference.
I relate here some of his insights. I combine this with discussions I had during the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) budget review by the Philippine Council of Agriculture and Fisheries (PCAF) held last March 2 to March 6 in Lubao, Pampanga.
Considering this crisis, there are four areas where we can start implementing meaningful reforms: solar energy, fertilizers, vegetable production and consolidation.
Solar energy
With our dependence on fuel now endangered by the current war, we must turn to solar energy, where we can count on the sunshine that we get. Last March 11, during First Gen’s groundbreaking ceremony for the P2-billion Inara Solar Power Project in Tanauan, Batangas, Gov. Vilma Santos-Recto said: “Reusable energy is important amid global fuel shocks and this project will boost the local economy.”
Nathaniel Magsino added: “The timing of this project is strategic, diversifying energy sources through solar that can help reduce our long-term exposure to fuel stocks.”
Today, only 4,000 hectares out of our 1.2 million irrigated hectares use solar energy. We must have a long-term strategy for using solar power in our irrigation and other agriculture ventures.
Fertilizers
According to the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority, domestic fertilizers account for only 5 percent to 10 percent of the supply. Even local manufacturers often rely on imported raw materials. The DA should extensively promote composting and biofertilizer production. This can be done through village-level composting plants, vermiculture (earthworm compost) and biofertilizer using beneficial microbes.
This will reduce import dependence and, very importantly, improve the rapidly deteriorating soil health. A nationwide campaign with support from our critical local government units should be launched very soon.
Vegetable production
With the Middle East crisis, our access to nutritious food is further limited. Our nutrition status compares very poorly with Vietnam’s. We have 30 percent child stunting and a 5 percent to 6 percent undernourished population.
Vietnam has only 19 percent stunting and 3 percent to 4 percent undernourished. Vegetables are a key solution to our nutrition problem. We consume vegetables at an average of 120 grams a day per person, half of Vietnam’s 270 grams.
At the budget hearing, we learned that the three DA vegetable production programs can be better coordinated since they are under two different undersecretaries.
In addition, the DA’s 1,370 Gulayans sa Bayan (GSB) sites launched last year have not yet been linked to the Department of Education’s 44,965 Gulayans sa Paaralan program. The latter covers 94 percent of public schools and are in need of the DA’s GSB vegetable technology. This must be addressed immediately.
Consolidation
As the war jeopardizes our agriculture imports, we must have an effective national consolidation strategy so we can effectively provide our own food. For our food security, we must import less agricultural products and export more. Last year, we imported double what we exported: $1.6 billion versus $885 million.
We must have an effective consolidation strategy for the average 0.9-hectare farms in the country. Only with economies of scale can we efficiently produce the food we need for our food security.
At the budget review, it was suggested that more effectiveness be done for the sugar sector’s more than P3 million per clustered hub compared to the rice sector’s P 300,000 consolidation plan.
The Middle East crisis endangers both our agriculture development and food security. We must now take urgent reform steps in critical areas like solar energy, fertilizers, vegetable production and consolidation. As stated earlier, we should not let a good crisis go to waste.
The author is Agriwatch chair, former secretary of presidential flagship programs and projects, and former undersecretary of the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Trade and Industry. Contact is agriwatch_phil@yahoo.com
