‘Yolanda’s’ delayed agricultural private sector participation
Rehabilitation czar Panfilo Lacson said he wanted the private sector to play a major role in helping the Yolanda survivors. From what we have seen, it is already doing a praiseworthy job—both on its own as well as in joining the government in the rehabilitation work. It is in the latter area that private sector participation in government-initiated projects can be done more quickly.
Yolanda struck on Nov. 8. By Nov. 25, the Department of Agriculture responded well with a draft P7.2-billion Rehabilitation Plan covering 202,410 households or 865,305 individuals. This constitutes about 17 percent of the P42-billion national budget (for agriculture) that has been proposed. We believe that the agricultural component should be more because the sector, which is already the poorest, has been the most damaged.
PCAF-CCC task force
On Dec. 2, the climate change committee of the National Agriculture and Fisheries Council (NAFC) passed a resolution “recommending the creation of a PCAF-CCC Task Force Superytyphoon “Yolanda” (TF-Yolanda) to assist in the planning for, and in the implementation of, the restoration/rehabilitation of the farming and fishing areas damaged by Supertyphoon Yolanda”.
A second resolution was passed supporting the Alyansa Agrikultura position published on Nov. 29: “that the NAFC Council be convened at the earliest opportunity to firm up the DA reconstruction/rehabilitation plan for calamity-stricken farming and fishing areas; and that the NAFC Council Budget Committee is requested to convene prior to the council meeting to review the fiscal requirements of the plan.” The Budget Committee needs to be convened. This is not only to prevent Napoles-like scams since the Yolanda budget will be enormous; it is also to help determine, with private sector insights, the best use of the DA resources available.
Unfortunately, the soonest these two meetings can be held is Dec. 17, according to the DA management. This is one month and 11 days after Yolanda has struck. It would have been better if these meetings were held much earlier.
Why NAFC? NAFC is a public-private sector body created by law to promote agriculture development. It is chaired by the secretary of agriculture. In its website, it states that “it decides on the goals and defines the scope of the country’s agriculture and fisheries policies, plans, and programs…It is also the apex structure of the NAFC’s nationwide consultative and feedback structure”.
The nationwide structure includes regional, provincial and municipal councils. For Yolanda, perhaps more urgent than the national council meeting is the need to harness the provincial and municipal councils in the Yolanda-affected areas. So far, this has not been done.
Even better is to have these local councils also catalyze and organize multisectoral forums that will solicit private sector participation. They will suggest how the national program initiatives can be modified to better meet the unique requirements in each affected areas. After all, they are the ones that are directly affected.
Alyansa Agrikultura’s Omi Royandoyan (09175286001) has been advocating this from the start. He sent a typhoon survivor who flew in from Samar to the NAFC Dec. 2 meeting to dramatize this urgent need. The provincial AFC’s are the most logical units that can champion this cause since they are legislated to do so.
Good News. It is fortunate that Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala advocates private sector participation in governance. In the Yolanda case, the two DA executives he has put in-charge of this important rehabilitation task recently demonstrated their commitment to this directive.
On Dec. 4, a DA strategy meeting was conducted where DA had invited other government agencies and foreign funding institutions, where initially no one from the private sector was invited. During this meeting, Agriculture Undersecretary Dante de Lima and his Yolanda Project Manager Rene Manantan encouraged the private sector representative from the PCAF-CCC TF-Yolanda to participate actively. Both said that a private sector representative from this task force, together with DA committee on climate change head Alice Ilaga, will now become permanent members of the DA-Yolanda core group.
It is even more encouraging that the private sector chair of PCAF-CCC TF Yolanda is Christian Monsod. With his high credibility and strong connections, it is hoped that speedy responses from the private sector will be ensured. Any delays so far experienced will be overcome with the commitment he and other private sector members of PCAF-CCC TF-Yolanda have shown.
(The author is chair of Agriwatch, a former Cabinet secretary for Presidential Flagship Programs and Projects, and former undersecretary for agriculture and trade and industry. For inquiries, e-mail [email protected] or telefax (02) 8522112).
