Some suggestions for incoming agri department leadership

The incoming administration is making rice self-sufficiency a top priority in its agenda. Given its federalism objective, it may want to assign specific provinces to produce rice for specific areas so as to clearly pinpoint responsibility. For instance, Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija and Isabela can produce for all of north Luzon (Regions I, II, CAR, III, IV and NCR). Similar assignments for south Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao can be finalized taking into account the irrigation and logistics realities in those parts. Incentives for achieved production

targets can sweeten the pot for designated provinces—with one source for the incentives being the savings generated from stopping rice smuggling and from streamlining the National Food Authority.

A rice self-sufficiency effort also calls for several support programs at the grassroots—to counter weather challenges, ensure soil health, obtain appropriate inputs, deliver crop nutrition and optimize disease control. Assigned provinces must make sure their farmers are using best practices in their rice cultivation—and that the water, storage, processing and transport requirements for use are made ready by the other agencies involved at the right time. If this plan is fleshed out quickly, absolutely no rice importation will be needed in 2018.

Together with rice, the Duterte team should also prioritize the revitalization of the coconut agro industry. Since a quarter of the population depends on coconut-linked livelihood, making this a development priority will immediately impact the goal of inclusive growth, especially since there is already a coconut levy fund that can prime “coconut revitalization.” Now that the whole world is getting hooked on anything and everything coconut, the Philippines must reestablish its leadership in the global coconut agro industry.

As a tropical archipelago, the Philippines has a lot of natural advantages that can ensure sustainable global competitiveness—but it can’t just be content with harvesting primary agricultural yields. Its entrepreneurs must enhance the value of these harvests with proper manufacturing technology and marketing savvy.

Agriculture action shouldn’t only be on rice and coconuts. This is emphasized by the Chamber of Herbal Industries of the Philippines Inc. Health and wellness concerns make for a huge market that is now being tapped by Chipi producers of ampalaya, malunggay, lagundi, talong, virgin coconut oil and a host of other products derived from Philippine agro industries. Let’s hope incoming Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol prioritizes these suggestions.

—JOSE Z. OSIAS, convenor, BalikProbinsiya, [email protected]