Is there a model for inclusive growth that can combine agriculture, livelihood, environment, and industry? Can it include the public and private sectors, rural and urban, rich and poor?
There is. It is the Central Luzon Million Tree Project, which is coordinated by the Kapampangan Development Foundation (KDF) but executed by different groups. The project’s elements can, and should, be replicated throughout the country to help attain inclusive growth.
KDF (09178403711) is known as the organization that established the only hospital in Southeast Asia that services physically handicapped indigents free of charge. KDF chair Manuel Pangilinan said the organization should now focus on agri-based livelihood. He identified as a key project the growing of fruit trees to provide livelihood while also enhancing the environment, which is also Pangilinan’s advocacy. Following PNoy’s public-private partnership (PPP) model, emphasis will be given to networking with many sectors, especially the poor.
Thus, the Central Luzon Million Tree Project, with a 10-year timeframe, was born. The idea is not entirely new. But the planning and execution is.
In 1987, the KDF learned from former Governor Aguedo Agbayani that Pangasinan had the highest number of mango trees in the Philippines: 250,000. Most were small backyard ventures. The income from these trees helped many poor parents pay for their children’s tuition. The KDF then embarked on a plan to have one million mango trees in Bulacan.
In seven years, the KDF achieved its one million target. A concrete indication is that a mango processing plant was established in Malolos, Bulacan to take in most of the excess production of mangoes. However, there was one weakness. Most were Indian mangoes, which did not command a high price. Also, the trees did not undergo certification, resulting in inconsistency in quality.
Certified nurseries
This time around, KDF is concentrating on certified nurseries. They learned that Guimaras mangoes, known for their consistent quality, originated from the best Zambales mango trees. They were the result of certified nurseries.
On May 18, a free whole-day seminar was promoted largely through radio announcements. The KDF asked the Department of Agriculture (DA) for the most effective technologies. Although the seminar was open to all, the DA asked the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to identify Cash Transfer Program (CTP) beneficiaries who needed supplemental income since they were about to graduate from the CTP.
The Alyansa Agrikultura said the seminar would be useful only if there was a whole-day follow-up seminar and the necessary organization for implementation.
Already, 44 participants have started to establish their own nurseries coordinated by KDF Satellite Nursery Association President Honorio Bungay (09212053368). They now meet monthly to improve their planning and implementation. “Paying it forward,” they now constitute the main force supporting the KDF in the ongoing three-day fruit tree nursery seminar for new participants.
They come from the rural and the urban areas: farmers, professionals, and returning Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW). To address inclusive growth, the KDF has organized the participants into KDF Satellite Nurseries which will involve the poor. Already, there are six Aeta communities involved. Bureaucratic difficulties are overcome because the KDF takes care of their certification from the DA’s Bureau of Plant Industry.
A small farmer may be able to plant only a few trees. But he can produce good fruits as well as certified scions. Scions are the certified seedlings that are grafted onto ordinary seedlings so that these can then produce high-quality fruits.
Among the key advantages of the Million Tree Project over the initial Bulacan project are:
•The nursery will produce only certified seedlings. This will help ensure quality, marketability and profit.
•Government agencies are heavily involved, such as the DA for technology and the DSWD for identifying low-income beneficiaries.
•There is a cluster approach with specific areas for a given fruit. This is the same way KDF successfully promoted Ilang-ilang in Anao, Tarlac, which is now known as the Ilang-ilang Center of Luzon.
•The mayors and partners—such as NGOs POs and even the Church—participate actively and have become the project’s champions.
•Forward planning is done, taking into account large processing in municipal centers and small processing in the rural areas.
Here is a synergistic agri-based livelihood model with an environmental enhancement component. Its success elements have been identified. It should be replicated in different parts of the country as a PPP initiative to attain the elusive goal of inclusive growth.
(The author is chair of Agriwatch, former Secretary for Presidential Flagship Programs and Projects and former Undersecretary for Agriculture and Trade and Industry. For inquiries, e-mail agriwatch_phil@yahoo.com or telefax (02) 8522112).