AVANT GARDENER
Last week, I guested on The Powerful Komiksman Podcast hosted by Jerald Dorado, aka komiksman, which can be viewed in full on YouTube.
We were introduced by Jean Karl Gaverza who runs Philippine Spirits, a website dedicated to the various mythological creatures that can be found on the archipelago.
I was invited in my capacity as a horror writer and expected the conversation to revolve around the craft of fiction writing and my thoughts on horror and the supernatural, particularly in the Philippine setting.
So why am I writing about it in my agriculture column?
Dorado had read that I was an agriculture columnist and wanted to hear my thoughts on the country’s food situation. And though we talked about many things, from my interest in horror and the supernatural to the recent scandal that rocked the literary world, it was the clip of our conversation on Philippine agriculture that got the most views on TikTok.
The clip focuses on two things: one, that we are no longer an agricultural country, and two, some of our laws need to be reviewed as though they may mean well, the have had unintended negative consequences on the agriculture industry. The example I gave for the latter was the ASIN Law. Republic Act No. 8172, also known as “An Act for Salt Iodization Nationwide” (ASIN) was enacted in July 1995 with the aim to supplement the nutrition of Filipinos, particularly in far-flung, landlocked areas. The law made it illegal to produce salt locally if it wasn’t iodized. Unfortunately, it didn’t account for salt farmers’ access to the iodization process. Salt self-sufficiency fell from 85 percent in the 90s to seven percent in 2023. Imagine being an archipelago and having to import 97 percent of your salt!
This is finally changing thanks to the increasing interest in local heirloom salt, something made possible because of local chefs and chef-driven TV shows, who (rightfully) love to highlight the different kinds of salts available in the country, each one with its own distinctive taste. There is also Republic Act No. 11985, or the “Philippine Salt Industry Development Act,” which was passed on March 11, 2024, which aims to “provide support through appropriate technology and research, and adequate financial, production, marketing, and other support services to revitalize the salt industry, attain increased production by salt farmers and salt producers, achieve salt self-sufficiency, and become a net exporter of salt.” Hopefully, this will bring the Philippines back to at least 85 percent self-sufficiency.
This is just one aspect of the agriculture industry. There are many others, most of them even more tangled than this one. There are no simple solutions to the problems in the agriculture industry, nor am I an expert in any of its fields, but when asked what I, in my limited capacity, think should be done, my answer was that we have to face the truth and work from there. We have to stop thinking of ourselves as an agricultural nation because we stopped being one a long time ago and instead work toward being one once again. We should stop resting on laurels we don’t have and instead use becoming food secure and an agricultural exporter as our goal. Folks in the industry know this, so it isn’t as if I’m saying anything new or revolutionary.
The clip on how we are no longer sparked a lot of debate on TikTok. While many people agreed and lamented about the need for a robust agriculture industry, some people were bewildered. “What has salt got to do with agriculture?” someone asked. Comments like this, I believe, are the barometer by which we should judge our citizenry. If there are people who don’t know what the connection between salt and agriculture is, then it only brings home the point that we aren’t an agricultural nation.
While the clip generated a lot of discourse, I don’t know if it had any real effect outside of social media. While I hope it opened people’s eyes to the country’s dire need to bolster its agriculture industry and food security, it doesn’t mean anything if they don’t act beyond typing angry comments. There is no one solution to the problems that plague the industry, but there are many people, both in the government and private sectors, who are trying their best to solve the problems in front of them. I believe that the Philippines can become an agricultural country once again, but first, it has to accept that it isn’t one anymore.
I get asked a lot how a horror writer became interested in agriculture and while I like to joke that it’s because I don’t want to go hungry, it’s not far from the truth. A hungry nation is a horror worse than any fiction.