FRESH MARANG, RAMBUTAN, LANZONES AND THE PHILIPPINE FOOD SKYWAY

By Manny Pinol

The message posted by my long-time friend and former fellow editor in the Philippine News Agency (PNA) George Reyes was plain and simple: “Padala ka nga ng matikman namin dito.”

Yet that one line message brought forth once more a problem which has stunted the growth and development of Philippine agriculture.

I could just have easily responded and told George who is based in Metro Manila: “Okey, I will send you 50 kilos tomorrow.”

That’s easier said than done.

To send 50 kilos of rambutan or lanzones to George and my other friends in Metro Manila, I have to travel for two hours to Davao City to bring the fruits to the airport.

There, I have the option to check in the fruits as added baggage if I am flying to Manila or send these through domestic cargo.

Any which way, I will have to pay more than the value of the fruits.

In excess of 25 kilos, a plane passenger will have to pay an additional P150 for every kilo of the rambutan which is sold in stalls along the highway for only P40.

At peak harvest season, the kilo of rambutan could go to as low as P15.

This was something which I brought to the attention of then Presidential candidate Noynoy Aquino when he came to North Cotabato.

I presented to him the idea of the Philippine Food Skyway where government will build airstrips or airports in key food production areas and acquire cargo planes which would land in these areas and load food supplies produced in abundance and bring these to areas where they are in great demand.

The rambutan, lanzones, macopa, mangosteen, marang, native chicken, organic farm fresh eggs, pork, beef and vegetables from North Cotabato could be easily brought to the markets of Metro Manila, Baguio, Cebu or even Bicol.

Or prawns and shrimps from Agusan and Surigao and fresh fish from the islands of Sulu or Tawi-Tawi.

Coming back, the same cargo planes could bring in products from those areas needed by the people of Mindanao. The operation of the cargo planes could still be handled by the Philippine Air Force under the guidance of the Department of Agriculture or an independent government corporation could be created to make sure that it is made economically viable.

The Philippine Food Sky was a concept in proper food supply positioning which I designed and wanted to implement with the start of the construction of the Cotabato Rural Airport whose completion has long been delayed, a victim of the dirty game of politics.

Unfortunately, when I met President Aquino two years into his presidency, he informed me that my proposal on the Philippine Food Skyway was shelved by the agriculture department because of the risk of losing money in the operation of the cargo planes.

I felt frustrated but what could I have done? It was the President who was telling me it could not be done.

Deep inside me though I kept asking myself: Why is government unwilling to take the risk and perhaps absorb some degree of financial losses to help the Filipino farmers and ensure steady supply of fairly-priced food for the Filipino consumer?

The Philippine government loses a lot of money every year buying imported rice from Vietnam and Thailand which benefits farmers in those countries.

No money for the Filipino farmer?

Yet our government officials feast on billions of public funds which they get through their pork barrel.

Again, I firmly believe that until such time the Filipinos elect a President who truly understands agriculture, this country will never go anywhere.

And George Reyes will just continue on wishing for and dreaming of fresh rambutans and lanzones from my farm.

(Photo caption: A farmhand harvests fresh rambutans to be given off to friends in Davao City.)