Stop Dole Outs! Let The Farmers Choose The Fertilizer They Need

It was public knowledge that when l was Secretary of Agriculture under President Rody Duterte, I had publicly clashed with the Economic
Managers, which included then Budget Secretary Benjamin Dlokno, because of their seeming lack of intarest in developing Philippine Agriculture
and their inclination to depend on importation to address rising inflation.
I was particularly peeved with Ben Diokne because in one Congressional Hearing, he dismissed the Agriculture Industry of the country as a “dying
industry” in justifying the little budgetary support given to the Dept. of Agriculture.
But while we had disagreements, there were some issues which we agreed on which included:
1. The establishment of a National Soil and Crop Suitability Map, including indications of risks and hazards. He particularly liked the National
Color-Coded Agriculture Guide Map which the DA crafted during the first 8 months of the Duterte Presidency (www.farmersguidemap.da.gov.ph.);
2. The Dole-Out and Subsidies for Agriculture must be stopped in favor of an Easy Access Credit System which was piloted by the DA through the Production Loan Easy Access Program (PLEA), the Survival and Recovery Loaning Program (SURE) and the Agriculiture and
Fisheries Machinery and Equipment Loaning Program (AFME).
The annual distribution of farm equipment without even taking into consideration the actual needs of farmers had led to so many expensive
equipment being left to rust under the elements.
The Seeds Subsidy Program virtually dictates upon the farmer what variety of Rice he should plant, ignoring the fact that Seeds are Area Specific,
which resulted in the late delivery of Seeds to farmers.
The Fertilizer Subsidy Program, as shown by the recent controversy, is rife with corruption and is ineffective because just ike Seeds, the kind of
fertilizer the farmer needs depends on the type of soil he has.
lpinaglaban ko na bigyan na lang ng Low-interest at Easily Accessible na pautang ang mga farmers para sila na ang bibili ng farm equipment na
gusto nla, seeds na pinili nila at abono na angkop sa kanilang lupa.
Pero maski magkakampi kami ni Ben Diokno sa adbokasiyang ito noon, hindi ito lumusot sa mga political decision makers pagdating sa pag-apruba ng budget ng DA.
Mas gusto nila na pumipila
ang mga magsasaka at mangingisda sa ipinamumudmod na tulong pinansyal, binhi at abono.
Political patronage was more important to them than really addressing the problems and needs of agriculture.
So, ngayon bilyon- bilyon piso na ang halaga ng naibigay na mga equipment, binhi at abono pero kapiranggot pa rin ang ini-angat ng Agricultural Production ng
Pilipinas.
Everybody knows the programs are flawed and ineffective but this system will never change because there are bigger interests at stake in the Dole-Out
and Subsidy Programs.
Even if Ben Diokno is the chief of the administration’s Economic Team, l do not belleve he has the guts and the time to pursue this.
#GovernanceIsCommonSense!