As a farmer and an agriculture advocate, I was expecting that the government would announce next that it would allocate funds to support poultry raisers in the country for after all it would only take 30 days to raise broilers to satisfy the demands of the market.
But no. The next news release I read in the papers was an announcement that the government would allow the importation of dressed chicken to fill up the shortage.
Now, why in the world would we import chicken, or even pork, onion, garlic, rice and other agricultural products, when the Filipino farmers, given the needed support by government, could easily produce this?
I will provide four answers:
1. Agriculture programs in the country are never planned long enough to anticipate the food requirements of the growing population. It has always been knee-jerk planning.
2. There is no money to make for corrupt agriculture officials when the chicken, pork, garlic, onion and rice are produced by the Filipino farmers. But there is a lot of money in issuing import permits to big-time businessmen who would bring in these food products from other countries.
3. While the agriculture department is teeming with experts in the different fields, the priorities and programs of the department are determined by the political appointees who lord it over in the department for six years. Then, they turn over the department to another political appointee who implements programs not to feed the Filipino people but to please his President.
4. The Philippines never had a President who truly understood agriculture, who was able to touch the soil and who felt the hardships and pain suffered by the Filipino farmer.
Philippine agriculture's heyday was during the early years of the presidency of Ferdinand E. Marcos and it was not because Marcos was an agriculturist. He was a lawyer. It was simply because he was wise enough to hire the most brilliant agriculture men, specifically Arturo Tanco.
Under the administration of President Benigno Aquino agriculture has been in the doldrums with a growth rate of a pathetic 1%.
Proceso Alcala has been a mediocre agriculture secretary and perhaps the only distinction he earned was that he was the first among President Aquino's men, not Generals Purisima and Napenas, who fed the President the wrong info.
"Si Alcala ang unang naka-bola kay PNoy," says my older brother, Patricio, a true-blooded farmer.
In 2010, Alcala, after his appointment as agriculture secretary, made President Aquino believe that the country would be rice sufficient by 2013, a projection which PNoy proudly announced in his State of the Nation Address.
The year 2013 has come and gone, in fact it is already 2015, but the Philippines is still importing rice.
This is where I submit a very strong contention that unless the Philippines elects a President who truly understands agriculture and who has a solid agricultural development plan which emphasises not only production but more importantly marketing and distribution, the country's agriculture will never get anywhere.
So, who are the Presidential prospects who truly understand agriculture?
Vice President Jejomar Binay? Nope. He reportedly raised hogs as a boy but there is more to agriculture than just raising hogs.
Secretary Manuel A. Roxas? Nope. His family owns a sugar mill in Ma-ao, Negros Occidental but i do not believe he even knows how to plant sugarcane or even realises how hard it is for the sacada to plant sugarcane for only P75 a day.
Senator Grace Poe? Certainly not. I do not believe she has gone anywhere near a farm who even knows the difference between a doe and an ewe.
Of all of the names being floated as prospective Presidential materials, it is only Davao Mayor Rody Duterte who truly understands agriculture and the importance of available and affordable food for his people.
As Mayor of the only city in the whole Philippines which produces bananas, durian, coconut, vegetables, cut flowers, pomelos, mangoes, and other fruits, it is only Duterte who believes that a political leader's obligation includes producing healthy food for his people.
While the neighbouring areas of Davao rake in so much money from digging gold, Duterte has remained steadfast in his opposition to mining saying it would destroy Davao City's environment and affect food production.
Philippine agriculture's best hope is Rody Duterte and if we miss this chance of installing a President who truly understands agriculture, we will have to go through another six years of very expensive and scarce food supplies and the country will have to rely on importation once again.
This is the reason why I am 100% behind the move to convince Rody Duterte as President of the Philippines.
By MannyPiñol
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