Building a platform for Philippine economic lift off

All over the world, many countries have uncovered the tenet that a stable and sustainable rural economy makes for a strong and vibrant country. Rural economies form the bedrock of national progress, this being especially so for developing countries.

In developing economies a substantial segment of the population lives in rural areas. They produce the food that sustains their urban cousins, run small businesses, help drive consumption, and provide much needed labor for industry and services. When people do not have to worry about where their next meal will come from, they can concentrate on building industries and being more productive members of society. I have had the opportunity of working in agriculture in several parts of the world for many, many years before returning to the Philippines. In Thailand, Vietnam and even more developed countries like Brazil, I have seen the pride and hope in a farmer’s eyes when his son or daughter can get an education and a chance to pursue a better life.

The World Bank estimates that economic growth generated from agriculture is at least twice as effective at lessening poverty as growth in other sectors. With more than one in three people in the Philippines residing in rural areas, the welfare and economic development of the rural sector underpins our national well being. Overwhelmingly these Filipinos in rural areas are engaged in agriculture in some way and they play a critical role in nation building because agricultural productivity holds the key to our food security.

The Philippine farmer has been doing his best over the years providing for himself and his urban cousins on just of 700 m2 of arable land per head of population. He has done a commendable job, considering farmers in Thailand cultivate three times the area per person and farmers in the United States cultivate six times the area per person.

But the Filipino farmer’s job is getting tougher. The National Statistical Office estimates there will be another 50 million Filipinos by 2030. With very limited extra land available for agriculture, by 2030 our farmers will need to feed each person from just 400 m2 of arable land – that‘s a little smaller than the area of a basket ball court.

The challenges don’t stop there. Competition for water is increasing and there is likely to be less available for agriculture as our cities and other industries grow and expand. Like other developing countries agriculture in the Philippines consumes more than 70 percent of the surface fresh water of the country but this will have to change.

And finally, all of this will have to be done in a way that preserves our environment for future generations. Add it all together and our farmers have their work cut out for them.

The good thing is that the Philippine government recognizes the challenge the Filipino farmer is facing. It has rightly made food security one of its top priorities and is laying practical plans to address this. Rural roads, irrigation system upgrades, market trading posts, and improved extension will play an important part in giving the farmer a leg up.

But we believe that this alone is not enough. There is an urgent need for farmers to have available to them and use the best available technology to produce our food more efficiently. In other words, our farmers need to grow more from less.

We at Syngenta Philippines Inc. are very proud to celebrate 10 years of providing Filipino farmers with modern solutions helping produce safe and high quality food, feeds and fuels. Our company is a subsidiary of Syngenta Ltd., a global agribusiness employing 25,000 people dedicated to supporting the sustainable production of food, feeds and fuels through innovative offerings in agrochemicals and seed varieties there by bringing plant potential to life.

To ensure Filipino farmers receive technologies adapted to Philippine environs, Syngenta established an R&D station near General Santos over 10 years ago through one of its legacy companies. We have also recently invested in a state of the art seeds manufacturing plant in Pangasinan which will be commissioned by the end of this year. We have over 400 people in the Philippines, with more than 300 members of our workforce spending most of their time in rural areas teaching farmers how to best use our technologies in a safe and sustainable way.

Syngenta has improved the productivity of Filipino farmers. We have Sofit®, a breakthrough in safe weed control in rice, Karate, a highly effective insecticide for rice and vegetables, and Sico® which improves the yield and quality of bananas for export. Newer products such as Armure®, have the potential to increase rice yields significantly, while Cruiser® gives rice and corn the healthiest possible start in life. On the seeds side, hybrid varieties such as NK 5447 and NK 8840 provide corn growers with rewarding yields through superior genetics and traits.

It is vitally important however that we continue to invest in agriculture to meet today’s needs and tomorrow’s challenges. We need to produce more with the land and water resources we currently have. That is why Syngenta globally invests USD 2.5 mio a day on finding more sustainable ways to feed our growing population.

Our new technologies included more effective active ingredients that can help increase crop productivity at lower doses and thereby have less impact on the environment. Other solutions will allow crops to produce high yields using less water, meaning more is available for alternative uses. And work is being done on crops that can fix their own nitrogen and lessen their need for synthetic nitrogenous fertilizers. Nitrogenous fertilizers are petroleum based, and so such innovation helps further reduce agriculture’s carbon footprint.