RP's agricultural potential key to fiscal independence

While the government is having a hard time maximizing the agricultural potential of the Philippines, the business sector is urged to take the lead and take advantage of the rich agricultural resources of the country.

"The Philippines is a big greenhouse. There are still huge opportunities in the agriculture and lifestyle sectors. However, why is it that the Philippines still imports sugar, rice, pork, beef, and today, even vegetables and spices-our most basic food needs," said Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) president Donald Dee in his recent visit to Cebu.

Dee said the business opportunities in agricultural ventures are abounding in the Philippines and "creative entrepreneurs" must immediately take advantage of this prospect.

In Cebu and the rest of Central Visayas region, investment should be thrown into the vast agro-industrial ventures, to go into processing of produce coming directly from the farmers, Dee told Cebuano traders.

He cited that in Southeast Asian region, the Filipinos have the highest cost of living. Indonesians and Thais for instance, can have a full meal for P20.00, while Filipino workers cannot.

"A self-respecting nation, to keep its economic independence, must produce its own food in sufficient quantity. That is the only way, that we can ensure that other nations will not use food supply, as a blackmail weapon against us in times of crisis. The rich nations like Japan, European Union, and the US, know this too well," Dee said.

This is obvious, he stressed that in the World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiation, where food subsidies have become the most critical issue, and where the developed economies refused to give up the subsidies that they give to their farming sector, even if the rest of the world demands that the practice be stopped.

In the case of the Philippines, the food sector has been shrinking for the last two and a half decades. Today, it only contributes 15 percent of the total food value of goods and services, or Gross Domestic Products (GDP).

Yet, it is in the food sector, where 40 million of Filipinos depend on for livelihood. As a result, half of the 83 million Filipinos are poor, for they produce so little, and even earn less.

Dee believes that the key is to make farming profitable for the tiller of the soil. Fishing and fish culture must be made a decent source of income for fishermen.

"The exploitation of our forest resources must bring progress to our forest dwellers," he added.

However, in the Philippines' economic setting he admitted that it is the traders that make the large profits, out of the sweat of the farmers and fisher folks who remain dirt poor.

"It is therefore our duty, as business leaders and entrepreneurs, to change this impression, and more importantly, to change this distorted trading system. We need not go directly into farming and agriculture, we must however, try to go into the processing of produce coming from the farmers," he stressed.