In addition to accessible credit and private sector participation in governance, the third key to our agriculture development is the effective implementation of Department of Agriculture (DA) programs. This was the consensus of the ten AF 2025 leaders who met recently to assess progress towards achieving a vision for agriculture in 2025.
This vision was formulated by more than 200 stakeholders exactly four years ago. These leaders are composed of four department secretaries of three previous administrations and six heads of major farmer, fisher, and agribusiness organizations.
Recent actions
In the past two weeks, action has already been taken on two priority areas of credit and private sector participation.
Credit is a key concern. In 2013, only 1.9 percent of all bank loans went to farmers and fishers, even though they comprise 40 percent of the working population. Land Bank did much better, with 12 percent of its P227 billion loan portfolio going to this sector. However, since Land Bank was set up primarily to support agriculture, the 12 percent should still be greatly improved.
Quick action has occurred. Land Bank president Gilda Pico has set up a meeting with AF 2025 leaders to discuss how the agriculture loan share can be significantly improved. This will be not only for Land Bank, but also for the entire banking sector. Subsequent discussions will take place with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the Economic Cluster officials.
Regarding private sector participation, Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries (PCAF) executive director Arnel Cayanan said he would be meeting this week with his national staff down to the rural level in Laoag, Ilocos Norte. He will discuss better mechanisms for private sector participation at the regional, provincial, and municipal levels, where PCAF has existing councils.
In Region I, PCAF regional chair Vincent Cadorna and DA regional director Valentin Terdido have formulated and implemented a model for a local Agriculture Fisheries Council (AFC). This includes not only a proven budget monitoring system that has already curbed corruption, but also provides effective follow-up for private sector agriculture development recommendations. Cayanan will subsequently promote the insights he gets from this meeting in a nationwide PCAF conference on private sector participation next month.
Implementation
Having gotten quick reactions on the first two priority areas, AF 2025 leaders look forward to similar quick action on implementation—the third identified priority.
A government official outside the Department of Agriculture said: “The DA people meet, talk, and then do nothing.”
This statement is unfair to many responsible DA people. Unfortunately, it sometimes happens in significant areas. During the AF 2025 Conference in February 2011, there was a unanimous recommendation that the DA management systems should be improved to help ensure better implementation.
One such system is ISO 9000. Together with Trade Secretary Jose Concepcion and DTI Director Renato Navarrete, I helped introduce this globally recognized system in the Philippines. Other countries were hesitant to import Philippine products because of their perceived inconsistent quality.
But when companies got their ISO 9000 certification, they were able to sell their goods abroad much more successfully. ISO 9000 is now used by institutions to help ensure the consistent quality of goods and services.
In a previous administration, the DA got ISO certification for a few agencies. Little has been done since then. Program implementation will be significantly improved with ISO 9000 because of the thoroughness of the management process involved. Program deviations, which include corrupt practices, will be caught by the system. This will minimize arbitrary unscrupulous discretion by officials, as well as relieving management of trying to catch culprits on a piecemeal basis because the system will automatically identify them.
Good management
For example, when the PAFC reported that more than 100 resolutions had been forwarded to the DA management for action, they could not answer the question on how many resolutions were actually acted upon. You can imagine the disappointment of the PAFC private sector members. Under a system like ISO 9000, this would not have happened because actions, not just resolutions, would be systematically accounted for.
Effective implementation is a result of good management. This is why running hospitals and schools are no longer necessarily done by doctors and teachers with no management training. It is this missing priority of effective implementation through good management systems that the DA must address before the Aquino administration ends. It can then be its legacy, which will not only minimize corruption but, more importantly, contribute to significant agriculture development in the coming years.
(The author is chair of Agriwatch, former secretary for Presidential Flagship Programs and Projects, and former undersecretary for Agriculture, Trade and Industry. For inquiries and suggestions, e-mail agriwatch_phil@yahoo.com or telefax 8522112.)