Rolando Dy's 2019 Look At PH Agriculture Compared To William Dar’s As Seen By The Wizard Of Os

Even with Covid-19, the challenge is to look for the Opportunity beyond the Obstacle.

My photograph, taken 19 March 2019 showing demo farms for the 8^th National Rice Technology Forum, is from my hometown of Asingan, Pangasinan. Our farmers know modern farming – but have remained relatively modern poor.

Here comes Rolando Dy looking at “A New Management Structure For Agriculture[1]” – it’s old not because it’s dated 16 August 2019 but because, 11 days before that, on 05 August 2019, newly appointed Secretary of Agriculture William Dar/Manong Willie came out with his own “New Thinking for Agriculture” and its accompanying 8 Paradigms: Modernization, Industrialization, Promotion of exports, Consolidation of small- and medium-sized farms, Infrastructure development, Higher budget & investment, Legislative support, and Roadmap development. So, it’s Mr Dy’s vs Manong Willie’s. I will compare them using the formula I call Wizard Of Os[2], where there are 5 Os:

Obstacles, Opportunities, Options, Outputs and Outcomes.

As The Wizard of Os, I do hereby reinvent the review of management!

Obstacles

Mr Dy: “By many metrics, Philippine agriculture trails its ASEAN peers by a mile… Current levels of farm productivity, long-term productivity growth, crop diversification, and agri-food exports.”

I agree. Nonetheless, those are not enough. Mr Dy does not talk of increasing farmer incomes like Manong Willie does: “Masaganang Ani At Mataas Na Kita” (Bounteous Harvest & Bountiful Income, my translation).

Opportunities

Mr Dy: “The commanding difference in (ASEAN) farm productivity is not in rice but in tree-crops and aquaculture development.” I disagree. The difference in productivity is with rice and all other crops. We Filipinos are not maximizing, not even optimizing yields. And, we should be practicing multiple cropping.

Options

Mr Dy: “Agriculture has many structural challenges. Let us focus on one – management structure.” He recommends that we create 3 Departments: Annual Crops, Tree-Crops, and Fisheries. I agree with Fisheries. But the other 2 departments are emphasizing single crops and not multiple crops. Manong Willie is for crop diversification, and so am I, another agriculturist.

Mr Dy: “Thailand has invested well in higher agriculture education. Gone are the days when the country sent students to UP Los Baños.” He is over-simplifying agricultural education as the only or major factor in development.

Mr Dy: “Partnerships with local governments, peoples’ organizations and state universities can be explored.” Manong Willie has all that in his “New Thinking for Agriculture.”

Outputs

Mr Dy: Vietnam. “The Government… owns all the farm lands and does long-term leases to farmers and agri-processing factories.” Manong Willie is after land/operation consolidation, not ownership.

Outcomes

Mr Dy: “Rural poverty remains very high relative to ASEAN peers.” Our farmers are poorer than other Aseans? I don’t believe it.

But yes, poverty should be the main concern – productivity must contribute to the emancipation of the poor farmers, and agribusiness must contribute to that grand ambition.

If we do not aim ultimately to release the farmers from their shackles of poverty, what are we wasting our times, treasures and talents for?!@517

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[1]https://www.agriculture.com.ph/2019/08/16/a-new-management-structure-for-agriculture/?fbclid=IwAR0X3FDtIEXJbOo3W7CpDUI9KxW3uQXT4XRgigo8aZ3F9P8tNfCu5xOsxO0

[2]https://ithewizardofos.blogspot.com/2020/01/wizard-of-os.html