GOVPH

Batac City, Ilocos Norte – The agriculture sector in the country still finds opportunities in the rapidly changing food markets in Asia and the fast urbanization and transformation of the supply chain, agricultural economist Dr. Arsenio M. Balisacan said during the 48th Convention of the Philippine Agricultural Economics and Development (PAEDA) held in this city.

The convention hosted by the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) gathered agricultural economic experts and development practitioners from all over the Philippines to discuss the challenges of enhancing the competitiveness of Philippine agriculture. 

Such opportunities were found amid the current challenges affecting the agriculture sector, such as the economic aspect.

“It will take us 44 years to double our income,” Dr. Balisacan revealed. “Other countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam are far more advanced and will be able to double their incomes in much shorter period.” 

Yet another opportunity is the rapidly-diversifying trend in food consumption, which leads to income growth and urbanization, Balisacan added.

In changing food consumption trend, the share of rice consumption declines in favor of rapid diversification into non-rice, high value food products. These include processed food and fresh fruits and vegetables. For Balisacan, changing food consumption offers a big opportunity for farmers to diversify to high value, more profitable crops. 

On the other hand, the sector is currently facing some key policy and governance constraints. According to Balisacan, some of the barriers include the extremely high cost in doing business in the country which is affected by the poor quality of institutions and infrastructure; and corruption.
“Development is hampered by policy and governance constraints,” Balisacan said, pointing out that the country’s economic growth does not always translate to reducing poverty and hunger. 

In the 2011-2012 Global Competitiveness Report, out of 139 countries the Philippines ranked 125 and 104 in terms of Institutions (governance) and Infrastructure, respectively. Other Asian countries fared much better: Indonesia (61, 82), Thailand (64 and 35), Vietnam (74, 83), China (49, 50), and India (58, 86).

Such sad reality tells that agriculture is no longer the engine to poverty reduction. However, experts expect that agriculture will continue to provide solutions for poverty reduction despite non-farm economy being eyed as engine to poverty reduction. But in many provinces in the country, non-agricultural income growth has been the main engine for poverty reduction, not only in urban but also in rural areas. Dr. Balisacan said that relative response of poverty to sectoral growth varies significantly across rural and urban areas. 

Dr. Albert P. Aquino, convention chair and PAEDA vice president said that this year’s convention is a “milestone for this foremost is a gathering of agricultural and applied economics professionals and practitioners, and it is the first time in many years that we held the convention outside Manila.” He stressed that the strategic shift underlined the association’s relevance and commitment to rural development and signalled it engagement not only in the national arena, but more so, at the grassroots level.

In a written message, Ilocos Norte Governor Imee R. Marcos underscored the importance of the agricultural sector in economic development. “In Ilocos Norte, apart from tourism, the agriculture and fisheries sectors remain to be the province’s engine of growth as they continue employ farm workers and fisher folks that supports the population,” she said. 

The PAEDA was established in 1954 by pioneer Filipino professionals in agricultural and development economics from the University of the Philippines Los Baños and various government offices. Its primary objective is to promote small-farmer productivity and profitability in the Philippines.

The 48th Biennial Convention of PAEDA on 20-21 October 2011 was brought to Ilocos Norte through the cooperation of the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquaculture and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST-PCAARRD), WorldFish Center, SEARCA, DA-Bureau of Agricultural Research, National Economic Development Authority, Millennium Development Goal Fund, Central Luzon State University, and MMSU.

Written by: Aristotle P. Carandang   
Monday, 14 November 2011 08:08