There is this anecdote about an Israeli Agriculture Expert who reportedly said: “Give me Mindanao, I will feed the whole world.”
The Expert, who was not identified, may have been exaggerating but knowing the agricultural potentials of Mindanao compared to the limitations in space and precipitation in Israel, his statement actually had a valid basis.
Israel has an area of only 2.2-million hectares compared to 30-million hectares of the Philippines; it has a rainfall of only about 360-mm every year compared to the Philippines 3,000 to 4,000-mm; and it has only four major river systems compared to the hundreds of “living” rivers in the Philppines.
In fact, the land area of Israel is even smaller than that of two provinces of Mindanao – Bukidnon and Lanao del Sur which are blessed with so many rivers, cool mountain climate and huge lakes but which are among the poorest areas of the Philippines.
Israel, on the other hand, is a major agricultural exporter and a leading country in dairy production.
So, what is it that Israel is doing right and what is wrong with us?
Israel has identified stable food supply as the foundation of their nation which would help them survive in times of crisis as shown by their great ancestor, Joseph, who saved the Pharoah of Egypt survive a 7-year famine in Biblical times.
Our economic planners simply do not understand the importance of food production in nation-building and they consider agriculture as a dying industry which people must abandon.
In fact, in the disastrous Rice Tariffication Law pushed by the Economic Managers, they proposed Crop Diversification, meaning Rice Farmers should start planting other more profitable crops instead of rice.
Parang ganoon lang kadali turuan ang mga Pilipino na baguhin ang kanilang kinakain samantalang iyon ngang kambing ay hindi puedeng magpalit ng kinakain ng pabigla-bigla sapagkat mag-tatae.
Gusto ng ating mga legislators at mga Economic Managers na hayaan lang ang mga magsasaka at mangingisda na makipag-kumpetinsya sa mga dayuhang magsasaka.
“Our farmers are not competitive compared to the Vietnamese farmers,” sabi pa ng isa nating taga-gawa ng mga polisya at batas sa agrikultura.
Paano magiging competitive ang magsasaka at mangingisda na Pilipino samantalang nakatira sila sa magkakahiwalay na mga isla at kulang ang imprastruktura upang madala ang kanilang mga produkto sa merkado at the least expense.
Sa kabouan, 12,000 kilometers pa ng Farm to Market Roads ang hindi nagagawa sa buong bansa, kalahati lamang ng 4.9-million hectares na mga palayan ang may irigasyon, wala man lamang pagawaan ng yelo o ice sa mga lugar na pangisdaan, mataas ang presyo ng abono at farm inputs at walang access sa stable market ang ating mga food producers at kinakawawa sila ng mga traders.
So, paano sila magiging competitive?
Napakalawak at napakayaman ng Pilipinas at iyan ay masasabi ko ng buong katapatan sapagkat naikot ko ang buong bansa bilang Agriculture Secretary at MinDA Chairman – mula Itbayat sa Batanes hanggang Turtle Islands sa Tawitawi.
Hwag na tayong lumayo.
Puntahan ninyo ang lalawigan ng Laguna, Rizal, Batangas, Quezon at ka-Bicolan at makikita ninyo ang mga lupang naka-tiwangwang at mga magsasakang ang tanging tanong: “Ano ang itatanim namin, saan namin ibebenta at magkano naman kaya ang kikitain namin.”
Kung mabibigyan natin ng katugunan ang mga isyu at katangungan na ito, kayang-kaya ng Pilipinas na magparami ng pagkain at sa pamamagitan nito makapagbigay ng maraming trabaho at hindi na kailangan mangibang-bayan ang ating mga asawa at anak upang maging katulong.
Walang panama sa atin ang Israel, Japan o South Korea. Hindi natin kailangang umasa sa importasyon. In fact, we could be a major food exporter.
The first thing that we need to reform in our country is the wrong mindset of our policy makers and legislators about agriculture and to start appreciating that food production is not just an economic activity used in determining the annual GDP.
Food production is the survival of the nation and ensuring its sufficiency is government’s moral obligation.
Hindi puedeng pabayaan lang ng gobyerno ang magsasaka at mangingisda at sabihing “they have to be competitive.”
In fact, government should provide the enabling infrastructures, the market access and the assurance of strategic food positioning by establishing Regional Food Consolidation, Processing and Distribution Terminals all over the country.
Dapat guided ang magsasaka at mangingisda kung ano ang kailangan ng merkado at ang kailangan nilang gawin ay mag-deliver lang sa Food Terminals, tanggapin ang bayad ng kanyang produkto na patas sa kanilang paghihirap upang lalo silang ganahan na magtrabaho.
The task of the farmers, fishermen and food producers should just be to produce what is needed by the market and it should be the responsibility and task of government to consolidate, process, reposition and distribute the goods so that consumers will enjoy fresh farm products at the lowest possible price.
This is one of the major institutional reforms we need to introduce in our governance through appropriate legislations in the Senate.
#GovernanceIsCommonSense!
#BuhayingAngAgrikultura!
#LetsBeExportersNotImporters!
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