Photo Credits to: Chris Stowers/Panos
The problems surrounding the Philippine agricultural sector are multi-sectoral, often requiring solutions that overlap with other fields. Politics and economics specifically are intertwined with each other and just dealing with one of them inevitably leads you to the other. Therefore, there is a necessity in knowing the status quo that surrounds our mentioned problems given their complexity. While other issues come with the Agricultural sector, there is urgency in dealing with these three among others, not just for short-term benefits but for the stability of the sector in the long term.
Local production has been unable to keep up with the demands of the growing population. Population growth, coupled with limited land use, frequent storms, and the lack of technology damages the state of local production. While the first three are expected phenomena of the Philippines, technology is a field that can be improved upon. Through the proper allocation of research funds, problems that concern the environment may be solved through the development of flood and pest-resistant crops. Especially in a country that deals with around 20 storms every year, along with pests like rice bugs that cost farmers thousands. Not only would it give solutions to problems like those, but local production would also become more efficient as a whole, and would even offset the high costs of production local Agriculture has. Especially now at the period of more frequent and extreme weather events brought about by the climate crisis, there is urgency in allocating enough funds for research regarding our agriculture.
As far as food security goes, the response of the Philippines has always been to import rice and other crops from other producers. While this provided relief, it left the Philippines dependent on other countries, leaving our local producers neglected. While there is a necessity in developing the research area that comes from the side of Politics and Logistics, as far as consumers go there is a need to support local produce firsthand. While the funds for research and technology will help agriculture as a whole, it will take time for individual farmers to feel its effect. Especially at a time when farmers are one of the groups with the highest poverty incidence in the Philippines, support for local production is needed to deviate from the import-dependent nature. Though unlikely, adopting the retail price system would help consumers by ensuring that the prices would give reasonable profits to farmers and other producers while avoiding profiteering.
Coinciding with the earlier point, supporting farmers through increased and liveable wages should be part of the conversation. As of this time, farmers are not only underfunded and have terrible working conditions, they are underpaid. Mainly as a result of most farmers not owning the land they owe, but rather working under feudal lords. Although there is a need to fix the heart of the issue, this is a political and social issue that takes decades and numerous people to resolve, while the people who are affected are suffering now. Therefore, before one tackles the heart of the issue, we must first ensure the wages of producers and farmers who will be affected.
The Philippine agricultural sector is without a doubt a sector waiting for its potential to bloom. It is intertwined with such issues but its necessity is clear. For the Philippines to ensure Food Security amidst the climate crisis, and ensure the abuse against Farmers lessen until it eventually dies, one must advocate for these three things along with many others. Just like we cannot expect rice to grow from toxic soil, we cannot expect the sector to bloom with such problematic aspects.
Advocating for the good of the local agricultural industry is admittedly not an easy task because it will still boil down to the government’s willingness to participate in the campaigns and initiatives for this matter. However, as students, how do we carry out this advocacy? Specifically, what can we do as students of Biology whose field is related to agriculture?
Agriculture is not the typical path that students take. Because of false stereotypes or preconceived notions about working in agriculture, many youths tend not to consider it for their careers. The lack of research in agriculture, consequently, arises from this problem. With this, it is an important part of the group’s advocacy to promote careers in agriculture. This will be done by collaborating with professionals in agriculture to attend the organized career talks with high school students. Exposing these students to agricultural career paths can make them consider these. In the long run, this will help secure more manpower in the agricultural field. It is also a must to participate in petitions to raise the wages for farmers and other workers in the agricultural field, as this would be a good motivation for people to pursue these careers.
There are still local farmers who lack background or education on the science of High-Yield Variants (HYVs) or crop seed variants of better quality that can grow in a shorter period of time. This also stems greatly from the fact that there is generally a lack of research in the agricultural sector, due to, yet again, the lack of manpower. HYVs hold great potential as long-term solutions. Considering how we apply neoliberalism in the Philippines, free trade will always be in the picture. This means that we would still have to import but HYVs could help ensure that we have balanced imports and exports. Because HYVs are designed to be of good quality yet can be cultivated in a shorter period of time, these are potentially of export quality. In a sense, it is hitting two birds with one stone when it comes to HYVs. These are great local farming options but they are also of export quality, thus, the farmers would not be left out. The group may conduct programs or seminars to share information about HYVs with farmers, especially considering that this subject area is covered in their current program, BS Biology. There are groups that the students can collaborate with to make these seminars possible. Expanding the knowledge of these farmers about their possible options can help them have a better livelihood.
As student Biologists, the group may join research forums, research projects, and other activities that involve working on HYVs, this is to solidify their knowledge of the area of concern. Additionally, the group can partner with authorized organizations and experts to secure HYV seeds which may be given to local farmers who cannot afford these. The funds will be gathered through a social media campaign involving a donation drive.
The support for the local agricultural industry may also be shown through the support for local farmers. The major advantages of supporting local farmers involve making the Filipino identity more prominent, helping economic growth, and motivating farmers to produce more. Throughout the years, the Philippines has been slowly losing its identity as an agricultural country, but we can restore it amidst this day of economic globalization by relentlessly supporting our local farmers. As we have seen the past week, the Aeta Market initiative was made possible by AUF and it was of great help to the Aeta community. As advocates for local agriculture, the group can also have an initiative like such for local farmers. We can show the world that Filipino farmers have something to offer, but before that, we can start locally.
We owe it to our farmers that we have our staple Filipino food, rice, on our plates. As globalization drives the world to move fast, we must not let our local agricultural industry be left out. Let us partake in ensuring that our local farmers will also have food on their plates. Let us agree on Philippine agriculture.
Bibliography:
Chandran, R. (2018, May 31). Philippine peasants fight for land 30 years after reform. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-philippines-landrights-farming-featur-idUSKCN1IW04K
Department of Agriculture Communications Group. (2022, June 5). Facing the big challenges in Philippine Agriculture. https://www.da.gov.ph/facing-the-big-challenges-in-philippine-agriculture/
Maghinang, R. J. (2019, October 19). [OPINION] Let’s have coffee, Senator Villar, and talk about research. Rappler. https://www.rappler.com/moveph/242566-coffee-cynthia-villar-research/
For a summary of this blog post and our advocacy for this week, check out the infographic below:
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