Agriculture is the national conversation, and why that’s good

FBy OR the first time in a long time, agriculture, food supply and its issues are part of the national conversation. Agriculture is often a topic that is not talked about enough in the corridors of power, often left out as a poor cousin of other issues. Little wonder why in the past administration, it kept declining, and little talk was heard about it.

As the conversation develops, we need to keep talking about it and inspire action to take advantage of new opportunities and solve many of the deep-seated issues that have hobbled this important sector of our economy that provides income for a big part of rural Philippines and affordable food for all.

As unemployment rates went down from 5.6 to 5.4% (3% now in SOCKSARGEN and Davao regions,) and minimum wage rates edged up in many regions, there was, and will continue to be an increase in consumption, and a particularly high demand for food.

If food production fails to catch up with this demand, supplies are scarce and costs will rise. Thus, in case of such supply gaps, importation is necessary to keep prices stable. It bears noting that while our agricultural production went up to about 4% in 2016 and almost 2% in 2017, it seems that this was not enough to meet demand.

The 6.4% inflation is therefore not surprising, as higher food and fuel costs pushed commodity prices up. Imported fuel we can do little about, save for lessening our dependence or drilling for our own oil. The proposed mass transit projects like electric rail systems will also lessen the impact of fuel prices on fare rates. But that's for another column.

At any rate, what gets the goat of many is that the inability to meet rising demand and the resulting rise in food prices reveal the existence of old chronic problems in agriculture and our food supply that many hoped were at least partly cured. What seems to ail our agriculture?

First, our archipelagic nature poses a natural disadvantage that hampers food distribution, which will often mean double handling and increased costs when compared with countries like Thailand and Malaysia which are more concentrated land masses where supplies are easily and more quickly trucked.

Secondly, terrain and climate differences and lower labor costs create a situation where some regions will harvest earlier and more than others. This is why for example, vegetable prices in Luzon often are double what they are in Mindanao.

It is hoped that improved logistics can enable supplies from areas to reach those where they are needed so that prices are evened out. This will also create new and more stable markets to consume increased production, that drives up productivity and local livelihoods, which are expected to rise following the release of 655 billion pesos more credit for agriculture from the Landbank.

To be fair, we have much more credit available for agriculture than we did in the last 20 years. Alex Buenaventura and his team at Landbank have done a good job getting these things done. Likewise, more investments have been made in the agriculture and fisheries sector. Using this new credit and investments to push more productivity is a rare opportunity we need to ake use of.

Nontheless, solving this distribution challenge will go a long way to solve this chronic supply issue that keeps prices high.

Third, much of our agriculture uses technology stuck in decades past. This makes it less productive than it should. It also makes it backbreaking and unattractive for younger generations. While the quick solution is to hire workers to make up for the lack of technology, higher labor costs make it hard for many small farmers.

A fourth issue is the spotty implementation of government programs in agriculture. The devolution of the provincial and municipal agriculture offices to the local government in the 1990s has been both good and bad, with the bad unfortunately outweighing the good.

Few local governments have ample resources or the right priority to drive local production, preferring to depend on other areas to supply their food needs, which also makes it more expensive for their own residents.

All things said and considered, we are now at a point where new government programs and efforts are present, but more is needed to take advantage of the availability of new opportunities like greater credit and technology to push agriculture forward.

As agriculture and food supply is the national conversation, perhaps we can talk about a clearer strategy to finally overcome the old the disadvantages and challenges in agriculture and food supply. More importantly, it is time for a more rational, effective and pragmatic food policy, which allows us to produce more of our own food cheaply and efficiently, while granting the flexibility to import what we need at the right time- all with the goal of stabilizing, and eventually lowering food prices for everyone. Achieving this is a legacy that will serve many generations to come. For reactions; facebook.com/ johntriapage