SINCE I started this series of columns on the need for a comprehensive and long-term renaissance program for agriculture, I have discussed several components of a grand strategy to implement that program, namely, conducting an inventory of agricultural resources, corporate farming, agricultural education and revisiting the carabao.

These are just a few possible components of the proposed grand strategy. I’m sure when policymakers and experts sit down to prepare the details of such program, other options will come out. My suggestions are aimed at starting the ball rolling.

I’d like to emphasize here that whatever shape the final program takes, and whatever components are included in it, the key element should be the Filipino farmer. After all, our ultimate objective is to free our farmers from the shackles of poverty, which, sadly, has not been accomplished through land distribution. And even the extension of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program should be aimed at helping the beneficiaries increase production and income, not just to give them land titles.

In the past we have been talking about the outsourcing industry as a labor-intensive, high-paying industry. That’s fine. Thousands of our people are now receiving good salaries working in call centers and other segments of the outsourcing industry, mainly in Makati, Ortigas and other urban areas.

The outsourcing industry, tourism and overseas Filipino workers have been driving the growth of the property sector and the economy, in general.

We should continue supporting the outsourcing industry and all other sectors of the economy. But let’s pay equal attention to the Filipino farmers and their families, who account for more than half of our population. The majority are the poor, who, despite our achievements in the industry and services sectors, have not seen significant improvement in their lives.

It’s unfortunate that while we pursued the development of some industries, we neglected other sectors of the economy, including agriculture, which still accounts for a quarter of our gross domestic product despite its present condition.

As a result of years of neglect, many farmers no longer till their lands. They are deep in debt because of the high cost of farm inputs like fertilizers. Thousands of hectares of farmlands are idle and unproductive, tractors have been sold and many irrigation systems are in a state of disrepair, while many farms still lack irrigation.

The problem does not end when the seeds are planted. After harvest, farmers are confronted with the lack of drying and threshing facilities. Then, when their crops are finally threshed and ready for the market, they fall victims to cartels that manipulate prices. There is hardly anything left for the next cropping season, and the cycle of poverty continues.

I have noted before that the global food crisis offers a good opportunity to exploit our potential in agriculture. The world is hungry for agricultural products like rice, fruits and vegetables, and even flowers. Our country can produce more than what it needs, and it can sell surpluses to other countries to help their people and, at the same time, generate foreign exchange for us.

This could be, you know, our last chance to revive our agriculture sector. The good thing is that we have the resources, though not as much as we would like, to finance such revival. Billions have been released by the government to subsidize rice and fertilizer and even electricity (at least for lifeline residents of Metro Manila). Billions are also being disbursed to repair irrigation systems.

These are absolutely urgent and temporary measures that address immediate needs for a short period. But subsidies, as I have said before, cannot be the permanent solution to the food crisis, and they will not solve the long-standing problem of farmers.

I must emphasize that a renaissance of agriculture, with the improvement of the farmer’s life as the primary objective, is what we need. It will give us food security, enhance farm exports and increase farmers’ income, as well as their capability to improve their standard of living.

Let’s not, however, lull ourselves into endless debates on how to proceed with the revival of agriculture. And I hope that my proposal to formulate a grand strategy for a program that should be implemented from five to 10 years will encourage concrete action, not mere lip service!

At the end of the day, what do we want, really? Isn’t it to eliminate the scourge of poverty in our country, once and for always?

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