Should Duterte legacy be BBB or Golden Age of Agriculture?

My exposure to corporate social responsibility in my years with a multinational oil company had been limited, and left me with the impression that work for inclusive growth seemed like wading in an ocean of development needs, one that never seemed to inch lower despite so many successful interventions.

The Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) was the biggest social development organization during the 70s, founded by the Philippines’ big businesses to fight poverty and potentially stem a growing unrest among the growing ranks of poor.

Big business believed that it had to set aside part of its funds (one percent of their net income before taxation) to finance projects that would uplift the lives of those marginalized in areas not reached by the government or other international and local institutions involved in poverty alleviation.

Nearing 50 years now, PBSP has laid claim to having reached out to more than 4.5 million Filipinos by providing them with skills and/or capital in various programs not limited to income-generation. That’s about 45,000 a year.

The Philippines back in 1970 when PBSP was founded had only 35.8 million people, with a little more than half below the poverty line. Today, with about 110 million Filipinos, below-the-line poverty incidence has dropped to 20 percent.

Below and above the poverty line

Doing the math, at first blush, we have actually more people now who suffer in subsistence levels than five decades ago, mainly because our population growth has surpassed all the combined development efforts that PBSP and similar organizations plus the government have put in.

This is perhaps the reason why it felt like all those good deeds did not seem to barely bring down at all poverty levels in that pool of impoverished Filipinos. Still, had there been no effort at all by countless enlightened non-profit organizations and individuals, we would have become Asia’s first basket case.

Taking from the half-full, half-empty glass perspective, though, and looking at the other side, 88 million Filipinos now live above the poverty line, which in social development lingo, translates to already a bigger feat.

Inclusive development work, however, has never become more needed, with 50 to 60 percent of the population still in the poor and low-income categories. This means having monthly family incomes at survival rates of P10,000 to just barely comfortable levels of P40,000.

Middle-class economy

If the Philippines dares to achieve its goal of becoming a middle-class economy by 2040, which means having a predominantly middle-class population with a GDP per capita of P600,000 and with no one in the poverty level, improving earning levels of the common tao is a must.

This goes without saying that the current impasse on rising inflation must be resolved to bring back the economy to its projected growth objective of seven to eight percent this year, and on through 2022, which would be President Duterte’s last year in office.

The country’s economic team has submitted a revised must-do prescription to address inflation concerns, foremost of which would be to ensure adequate food supply in the market to curb any speculation that had caused recent price increases and alarm among the public.

As with my past columns, agricultural development should be given more support. Thus, the move to liberalize the importation of food in favor of increased tariffs that will go to developing the agricultural sector is one that should be meticulously planned and executed.

Raising agricultural productivity

While the government’s Build Build Build (BBB) program has components that will improve agricultural infrastructure, more resources are needed to upgrade the knowledge of our farmers, fishers and livestock growers in improving their current productivity.

More credit must be made available to the agriculture sector, including agri-entrepreneurs, to encourage farm output and increase value. Cooperative building has improved over the years, and it is time now for some qualitative change where bigger risks can be taken towards modernization.

Technology must take a bigger role too, to ensure that harvests are competitively priced with those of competing countries. The route of produce from farms to the market must be streamlined to bring down further prices for the consuming public.

Finally, more investments have to be made on disaster management and mitigation to create a mantle of protection on investments that our farmers, fishers and livestock growers have made especially against the damage that typhoons, floods and landslides bring.

A doable legacy

While BBB is an important ingredient in the Philippines’ roadmap to achieving developed nation status, Filipinos may not remember President Duterte at all for this because most of the infrastructure projects that would break ground during his term would only be completed in the next president’s term.

If President Duterte wants a truly lasting legacy, a golden age of agriculture could perhaps be a more doable program over the next four years, one that would create a period marked by stable food prices and supplies, even if initially imported.

The proposed tariff regime for imported rice as well as vegetables and meat products would be able to generate substantial earnings that would go directly to the agricultural sector to make them truly globally competitive.

To the millions of working and middle-class Filipinos who had put their trust in Duterte in 2016, nothing can be more regrettable than seeing spiraling prices of food commodities and a weakened peso, something that did not happen during the corruption- and scandal-plagued regime of previous presidents or even the no/slow-action era of the previous president.

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Should you wish to share any insights, write me at Link Edge, 25th Floor, 139 Corporate Center, Valero Street, Salcedo Village, 1227 Makati City. Or e-mail me at [email protected]. For a compilation of previous articles, visit www.BizlinksPhilippines.net.