BUSINESS TALK

By William S. Co
Rice for many Filipinos is the holy grain that cannot be missed out for most of their meals and the most important staple food at least for Filipinos. It is not surprising that it is the major crop of the Philippines and it became a political commodity. However, the much-coveted desire of the country to be self-sufficient is still elusive at the present time. Rice as a major agricultural crop in the Philippines contributes to 14 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, and by some estimates, there are 3.65 million rice farmers. Still significant millions of labors are dependent on the rice. Dr. Rodolfo Undan, who was formerly the president of the Central Luzon State University (CLSU) and now a full-time rice farmer, believes that the Philippines has the natural land and water resources, the climate, the manpower, adequate germplasm materials and the technological capabilities to be self-sufficient and consequently, attain the much-desired food security in this staple crop. Self-sufficiency in this context means enough food for the population plus a buffer stock for three months period. Food security means a stable self-sufficiency, no need to import but instead export good quality rice to needy countries. However, Dr. Undan explained that for rice, there are priority limiting factors that need to be addressed to meet the target: irrigation water, energy, postharvest facilities, pricing, and laws/policy formulation and implementation conducive to high productivity. There is also a need to view the problem wholistically by looking at the entire supply chain as well as apply the farm level proven scientific methods of farming for increasing yields. Some misguided policies and laws, the lack of good planning and the agricultural bureaucracy make it difficult for the rice grain sector to flourish. These are actually decades of systemic problems that continue to persist. Dr. Undan suggests that the government must consider the welfare of all of the stakeholders but slightly favoring the producers – the farmers. He said that the leaders in government should promulgate laws that are advantageous to rice farmers and farmers in general. It should also help set a minimum farm gate price of palay on wet basis at ₱20/kg for ordinary variety and ₱21/kg for good eating quality variety, which he describes would inspire the farmers to be highly productive not only for palay production but also in other food needs. The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry shares the same sentiments with Dr. Undan. In fact, one of the advocacies that we are putting forward is the amendment of the agrarian reform law to expand land coverage and allow farmers to own up to 25 hectares of land to make it suitable for efficient farming. With this size, farmers can put in and utilize proper irrigation and highly mechanized farming technologies including the much-needed post-harvest facilities that lead to better opportunities and benefits – increased productivity and income, access to credit and in the long run reduction of poverty incidence among farmer-beneficiaries. We have elevated this recommendation to House Speaker Martin Romualdez as part of our 48th Philippine Business Conference resolutions and we hope Congress will consider and look into it. Certainly, the weak agriculture system in the country is driven by the low productivity of farmers and despite the implementation of the comprehensive land reform law and various support services, we continue to lag behind our neighbors in ASEAN in terms of development. Specifically, we should consider easing the rules in land consolidation and ownership to create opportunities for better agricultural productivity by farming larger tracts of land and providing farmers with the right support. And just like the rice industry of the Philippines, it could be a major game-changer sector that will lead us toward full socio-economic recovery and progress. (Dr. William S. Co is the chairman of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI )and director of the Agriculture and Fishery Committee).