Agri Forum, Miss Universe Pageant

The Miss Universe pageant last December can provide valuable ideas for the Presidentiable Agriculture Forum in February. Specifically, the importance of listening  to what Ms France said  and the need for compassion highlighted by Ms Philippines are helpful guideposts for the presidential bets’ presentation.

When Flora Coquerel of France was asked on the best way to combat the threat of terrorism following the Paris attacks, she responded: “First, we have to know where the problems are coming from. Then we have to listen to the people who are committing these attacks. We have to find the problem at its heart.”

Today, we are confronted with terrorism only in a few isolated areas. But we have another kind of injustice in the form of poverty in most parts of our country. The presidential bets should listen to people to find out the extent of this problem and where it is coming from.

Rural poverty

On Jan. 9, the main convenors of the Presidentiable Agriculture Forum met to prepare for the event. They are farmers and fisherfolk, agribusiness people and representatives from the academe/science. They agreed to submit to the presidential bets a two-page summary on the agriculture situation today to give them the context with which to listen to the agriculture stakeholders. Leading this effort are former chancellor Emil Javier of the University of the Philippines Los Baños and executive director Rolando Dy of the University of Asia and the Pacific Center for Food and Agribusiness.

The following are some elements of this summary:

1) The extent of our rural poverty is two to four times worse than our Asean neighbors. Consider the table above.

2) Of the nearly 26 million poor, 20 million reside in rural areas. They are mostly farmers, fisherfolk and landless farm workers.

3)  While urban poverty is 13 percent, rural poverty is 40 percent.

4) In January, the self-rated poverty levels reported by the Philippine Daily Inquirer were 70 percent in the Visayas, 51 percent in Mindanao and 46 percent in Luzon areas outside Metro Manila. This indicates where priority action should be given.

5) According to the Philippine Gazette, the 2015 poverty threshold for a family of five is an average annual income of P96,000. Among these poor, farmers have the worst. They get only P45,000 a year, less than half of the poverty threshold.

6) From 2011 to 2015, the agriculture growth rate has averaged 1.7 percent. Again, this is less than half of the 4 percent agriculture growth target set by the government.

In addition to the two-page agriculture situation summary, there will also be a submission from the convenors to indicate “where these problems of poverty are coming from.”

Compassion

However, even if the presidential candidates listen, they still need the compassion to exercise the strong political will necessary to address rural poverty.

When Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach of the Philippines was asked about being Ms Universe, she responded it was “both an honor and a responsibility.” She would show the world that she would be “confidently beautiful with a heart.” The characteristics of honor and being beautiful indicates a static picture. But the characteristics of responsibility and having a heart imply action with compassion.

In the Presidentiable Forum, the candidates—armed with the agriculture status and views of agriculture stakeholders—will present the innovative agriculture policies and programs they intend to implement. Motherhood statements will be replaced by specific doable actions “with a heart.”

The two main questions that the presidential bets will address in the forum are:

1) What are your proposed specific agriculture policies and programs?

2) How will these address the problem of poverty among farmers and fisherfolk?

The best way to address poverty is to provide sustainable jobs. This involves inputs from the three groups of organizers: Farmers and fisherfolk who produce our food; the agri-business enterprises who provide added value in a complete supply chain from seed to shelf, and academe/science which will provide research and information needed for us to become a globally-competitive agriculture sector.

With the Miss Universe pageant insights on the importance of listening and compassion, the presidential bets must show their willingness and ability to understand the true agriculture situation, as well as demonstrate the compassion and political will necessary to take us out of rural poverty and achieve true agriculture development and inclusive growth.

(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, email [email protected] or telefax (02) 852-2112).