AVANT GARDENER

Today the Manila Bulletin celebrates its 124th anniversary. That’s 124 years of reporting on news and current events. 124 years of informing, educating, and entertaining its readers while being at the forefront of history and relaying it to the Filipino people. And within those 124 years, becoming a staunch supporter of the Philippine agriculture industry and one of its biggest, if not the biggest, mouthpieces in mainstream media.

During my term as Agriculture editor, I was cognizant of the fact that I was continuing a grand tradition of reporting, not just on the ups and downs of the local agriculture industry, but also of the stories of individuals who have made it in what, unfortunately, can still be compared to the Wild West when it comes to business — when you work with nature, nothing is sure — stories of hope and triumph in what otherwise is known as a difficult industry to survive, much less thrive in.

I’m grateful to have been part of a publication who led the pack in featuring a neglected industry in the hopes of cheering on current practitioners and enticing new players to participate in the construction of a profitable agriculture sector that offers maximum profit for producers while at the same time giving Filipino people access to nutritious, delicious, sustainable, culturally relevant, and most of all cheap food — something considered a pipe dream in today’s capitalist hellscape.

To believe in an equitable and profitable agriculture industry is to believe that radical change, because making it happen would involve changing the minds of everyone, not just direct stakeholders. Unfortunately, a chunk of profit in the industry is made not by farmers or honest businessmen, but by folks that have become larger than life, the few who soil the reputation of the many in their respective places of work such as unscrupulous middlemen, corrupt officials, and so on.

How does a publication whose output is words and images instead of food, help the industry? By spreading news, both good and bad, so people within and outside the industry can stay informed. By telling the stories of individuals who have achieved success despite the odds, and to share the tips they have garnered along the way so that less people will commit the same mistakes they did. By reminding people that the agriculture industry exists, and that it needs the support of the very people it was meant to feed.

People have been so removed from agriculture production that many now take food for granted. They do not understand that unless we secure the country’s food system, the Philippines will constantly be on the verge of a food crisis, which, in the worst case scenario, might lead to political instability. A hungry nation is an unstable nation.

I am proud to have been part of a publication that, through its support of the agriculture industry via its industry-specific features and publications via Agriculture magazine, newspaper sections and specials, and this column.

Once again, happy 124th Anniversary, Manila Bulletin. May you have more than 124 more years of news reporting to come!