A country may survive even if it does not have divisions of warriors to defend its territory but it would certainly collapse into chaos and disintegrate if it could no longer feed its own people.
These thoughts are among the ideas on the importance of agriculture and food production to the very existence and survival of the nation which I have shared with those who have signified the interest to lead this country.
In all modesty, I would like to share with the followers of this page the information that as part of my advocacy to elevate agriculture and food production to the highest rung of government priorities, I had already briefed two Presidential contenders on the role that food production plays in the survival of our nation.
I am preparing to brief a third Presidential candidate who had already publicly declared his intention to lead the country and I am willing to share my thoughts to others who would have time to listen.
Mine is not a complicated treatise on how to run government but a practical perspective on the functions and obligations of government.
The first basic principle in governance which I believe in is that government’s primary function is to ensure the survival and well-being of its people.
With this basic premise, I have identified the Six Pillars of Governance which I believe should be strengthened to build a strong nation.
These Six Pillars of Governance are:
1. National Food Security; 2. National Health; 3. National Education; 4. National Security; 5. National Economy; and 6. Social Equity, Moral Formation and Justice.
I ranked National Food Security as No. 1 because I believe that a nation which could not feed its people is a failed state.
Without Food Security achieved through self-sufficiency, everything else would crumble and the nation will be in chaos.
Unfortunately for us in the Philippines, Agriculture and Food Production had merely been categorized as an economic activity and its performance is measured by its computed contribution to the Gross Domestic Production and in lowering Quarterly Inflation Numbers.
Philippine Agriculture is viewed by the Economic Planners as a beast of burden which must be whipped and flogged to produce more.
And when, in the view of the economic planners Agriculture does not contribute much, it is penalized by just giving it a morsel for a budget, like the less than P100-B share in the 2022 Budget of over P5.4-Trillion.
In the briefings I gave to the first two Presidential contenders, I emphasized these things:
1. Food Production should not be considered as an economic activity but a moral obligation of government to ensure the survival of the nation;
2. The Philippines has all the resources needed to be food sufficient and all that is needed is a clear identification of the commodities needed by the country and a map showing where these could be produced and a system of distribution;
3. Investments and enabling legislations must be passed to correct the current flaws in Philippine agriculture policies such as the dependence of massive importation and the allocation of budgetary resources;
4. Philippine Food Production and Distribution should not be left to the hands of the private sector alone and government must establish Regional Food Centers where farmers’ and fishermen’s produce are consolidated and efficiently distributed to the different markets nationwide.
The COVID 19 Pandemic has not only brought us untold miseries and economic difficulties.
It also taught us a very important lesson and that is, in times of crisis, every nation will always look after the welfare of its people and if that needs keeping their food supplies for themselves, they will do it, damn the international commitments and conventions.
In the end, it will always be the government which could sufficiently feed its own people which will emerge as the strongest and most resilient.
A nation’s survival in times of famine and crisis will depend on how much food it has stored in its silos and storages rather than the number of battleships or grand infrastructure.
Honestly, I do not know how my efforts to brief our Presidentiables on the importance of Food Production and Self-Sufficiency would affect their decision making in the future.
My only consolation is that I did my part and I did my best to give them a better perspective of the importance of Food Sufficiency to national survival.
#FoodSecurityIsNationalSecurity!
(Fish cage operators in Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur harvest Bangus grown in the coves of the town. Many other similar areas in Mindanao are ideal for fish cage farming.)
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