When 200 key agriculture stakeholders assembled for the Agricultural Fisheries 2025 (AF2025) Conference back in 2011, some said it would just be another example of ningas cogon.
What will happen in the next three months will determine if AF2025 will become reality or mere rhetoric.
The main convenors of the AF2025 Conference were Agricultural Secretary Proceso Alcala, Congressional Agricultural Committee Chairs Senator Francis Pangilinan and Rep. Mark Mendoza, and private sector leaders from agriculture and agribusiness.
Among the private sector organizations were Alyansa Agrikultura (AA) for agriculture and the Philippine Chamber for Agriculture and Food (PCAFI) for agribusiness.
The participants formulated a vision for agriculture in 2025, as well as short and long term programs and projects to achieve this vision.
They were divided into five sectoral groups: Rice and food crops; poultry, livestock, and feed crops; fisheries; fruits and vegetables; and commercial crops (e.g. coconut, coffee, cacao, etc).
A sixth group took care of cross cutting issues such as credit, technology, marketing, organization, and Local Government Unit (LGU) involvement.
The AF2025 vision has five main elements:
An agriculture sector with strong production and purchasing power where social justice and equity prevail;
Food security where products are plentiful and accessible, made possible through well conceived and properly implemented agricultural subsector roadmaps;
Farmers and fisherfolk are prosperous and organized with empowered rural women, thus providing the strongest link in an efficient agricultural supply chain;
Public and private investments are plentiful with effective technology transfer addressing the twin challenges of global competition and climate change;
Public and private partnerships characterize the formulation and implementation of agricultural programs, especially at the LGU level.
Since the holding of the conference, the Department of Agriculture (DA) budget has grown.
Sadly, agriculture growth has declined.
This coming Jan. 17, the private sector elected and identified sector leaders from the AF2025 February 2011 conference will review the implementation status of the conferences recommendations and the corresponding outcomes.
Learning from this, they will identify the key actions the DA and the private sector should now take to reverse our agricultural growth declining trend.
The following will discuss the issues for the sectors they were involved in during the first February 2011 conference: former Minister of Science and Technology Emil Javier- Rice and food crops; United Broiler Raisers Association President Elias Jose Inciong- Poultry, livestock, and feed crops; Tambuyog Development Center Executive Director Arsenio Tanchuling- Fisheries; Philfoodex President Roberto Amores- Fruits and vegetables; Agora Awardee Agribusiness Entrepreneur Philip Young- Commercial crops. Discussing the Cross Cutting Issues are former Agricultural Secretary Senen Bacani, former Economic Planning Secretary Cielito Habito, AA Convenor Omi Royandoyan, PCAFI Chair Alex Escano, and Pambansang Kilusang Kababaihan sa Kanayunan Secretary General Amparo Mesiano.
After these leaders have identified the priority actions that must be taken for their respective sectors, they should not limit their communications to Secretary Alcala.
Instead, they should also communicate with other key leaders such as Food Security Secretary Francis Pangilinan, Budget and Management Secretary Florencio Abad, and Congressional Agricultural Committee Chairs Senator Cynthia Villar and Representative Mark Mendoza.
They should then jointly monitor and communicate progress on a quarterly basis for the months leading up to the May 2016 elections.
This way, AF2025 will not fall into the ningas cogon trap. Instead, it can be put on a secure path to achieving the agricultural vision for 2025.
(The author is chair of Agriwatch. For inquiries, email agriwatch_phil@yahoo.com or telefax (02) 8522112).