It’s Not Too Late! Surviving Crisis, Food Inflation By Boosting Local Production

The shortsighted policy decisions on Food Security in the recent past which relied mainly on importation are starting to hurt and haunt us following a series of events beyond our control including COVID 19, the Ukraine-Russia War and recently the surging power of the US dollar which could result in very expensive imported food commodities.
This could lead to massive food inflation which would make life difficult for Filipino families who source their food from the markets.
But there is a way to get out of this crisis, that is if government acts fast and decides to shift from an import-dependent Food Security mindset towards embracing the concept of Food Sovereignty.
From the first day I assumed the position as Secretary of Agriculture to the day and resigned and moved to the Mindanao Development Authority and up until today in the private sector, I had consistently advocated for a policy to reduce our dependence on importation by boosting our local production.
This advocacy placed me at odds with the Economic Managers who were concerned with the Quarterly Inflation Numbers and who refused to appreciate the idea that to build a strong nation, we must develop our local agricultural production capacity which in turn would create local jobs and income opportunities and generate an inclusive economic growth.
I was laughed at and ridiculed when I said that with the needed support, the Philippines could be rice sufficient.
Instead, the Economic Managers misled then President Rodrigo Duterte into believing that the passage of the Rice Tariffication Law would bring down the price of rice in the market by as much as P7 per kilo and it would improve the productivity of our farmers.
Of course, everybody knows, except the RTL proponents who until today argue that what they did was right, that the price of rice had gone up from P38 to as much as P50 per kilo and the farm gate price of palay produced by the Filipino farmers dropped from P21 to as low as P14 in many parts of the country.
This is not an attempt to indulge in a blame game or to prove that I am brighter than the others because I am not.
My only advantage is the fact that my ears had always been pressed against the ground and my eyes are keen on observing developments and situations in the countryside.
With the Philippine Peso dropping P58.50 to $1 and while the economic scene may look bleak, the country could still wiggle out of this difficult situation if we learn lessons from the flawed policies of the past.
The COVID 19 Pandemic, the Ukraine-Russia War and the recent financial crisis have taught us the following lessons:
1. We cannot rely on importation. The country must boost its local production and implement a reform in the marketing system which would facilitate the transport of rural products to the main population centers. This is crunch time and immediate measures must be undertaken to ensure that food prices are kept within the reach of wage-earning families. There is an inactive government owned corporation, the Food Terminal Inc., which could be revived to handle the procurement of food supplies in the countryside to be redistributed in urban areas.
2. We have to develop our local economy by using our resources – human and natural – to support processing and manufacturing industries. Let us stop selling iron ores. Instead, let us develop our own steel industry. Let us revive our wood industry by institutionalizing the concept of tree farming and supporting the nascent Bamboo Industry. This will create jobs and income opportunities in the countryside thus cushioning the adverse effect of inflation.
3. The Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) play a critical role in our national survival. Let us support them by ensuring that there is an efficient remittance system for them to be able to send the dollars back home with low fees. The Department of Migrant Workers must look into the age-old problem of OFWs whose Balikbayan boxes containing goods for their families back home are not delivered efficiently. Worse, many of these boxes containing little things which could alleviate the economic conditions of their families back home are pilfered and sometimes undelivered. Government must do away with the ridiculous policy of regulating the fielding of health workers abroad. Instead, the DMW must facilitate the deployment and employment of our nurses overseas where they earn in one year what they get for a lifetime of service in the country.
4. We have to develop more sources of renewable energy to reduce our dependence on imported fossil fuel. Dams, water catchments and mini-dams will not only generate power but also manage our water resources. Solar Farms could be established off-shore serving dual purpose – as source of energy and a fish aggregating facility as well. Windmills must be built isolated islands of the country to lessen dependence on diesel fuel for their power generators.
5. Finally, let us stop dreaming of manufacturing airplanes or cars. We are too far behind in those fields. Let us do what we know best like producing food, building boats and ships, tractors and farm machinery, medical supplies and others using our local resources. Let us boost our exports because it is at this time when exports would give us a higher value for our products.
If we manage this crisis well, the Philippines could come out as a self-reliant country and major powerhouse in food production where every family forms part of the foundation of a national economy built on its rich natural and human resources.
The Pandemic, the Ukraine-Russia War and the current economic crisis taught us a lot of lessons which could be read and understood easily by a mind free of greed.
If we still could not learn from these lessons then we are damned as a nation.
#ThoughtsOfTheFarmBoy!
#GovernanceIsCommonSense!
#TurningCrisisToOpportunities!