Continuing loss of agri competitiveness

WTO director-general Pascal Lamy was in Manila recently apparently as part of an effort to convince its 150 member-countries to craft out a new global trade deal before the end of the year. After a disconcertingly long period of impasse, Lamy spoke with optimism of seeing the negotiating engines a-buzzing once again. He pointed out that discussions are now at a stage that involves number-crunching rather than just mere exchange of words.

It’s to our government negotiators’ credit, and I would like to mention Agricultural Undersecretary Segfredo Serrano, that Lamy included the Philippines in his tour of G-33 countries. Serrano is one of the key figures in this rather formidable group of developing nations pushing for the right to impose specific restrictions on sensitive commodities that need protection from the onslaught of cheap and highly-subsidized agricultural imports.

During his visit, Lamy mingled with local business groups and non-government organizations, including staunch anti-WTO advocates like former Sen. Bobby Tañada, although at this point in time, it is difficult to convince many locals that trade liberalization, as espoused by the WTO, has benefited countries like the Philippines.

Need to double efforts

While there may be some basis for skepticism, it would be impossible to isolate ourselves from the reality of global integration. There is no turning back from it, and this unstoppable truth should push our government to double, even triple, its efforts to put proper safeguards and safety net measures that should help our struggling agriculture sector to become globally competitive.

As it is, our farmers can hardly withstand competition. In fact, over the years, agricultural productivity has gone down dramatically. The sad reality is that our farmers remain one of the poorest in the region. It’s quite frustrating that despite making up a fifth of the country’s gross domestic output, agriculture has not been properly supported in terms of policy, financing and technical assistance to be able to grow and sustain itself as an instrument for food security and poverty reduction.

Consequently, the Philippines has become a net agricultural importer. Even with rice, for example, the government spends about P28 billion yearly for this commodity.

Safety nets not in place

When the government supported trade liberalization, it promised a slew of such so-called safety nets to our farmers so that they could stand on firmer footing with their foreign counterparts. Alas, these promises have remained mere rhetoric.

While opening up farm trade, government neglected to ensure that the correct measures are put in place to make Filipino farmers battle-ready for the influx of cheap produce of their highly-subsidized foreign competitors.

A glaring example is the Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (ACEF) where import duties collected from imported commodities covered under the minimum access value scheme were supposed to go into funding critical infrastructure.

But apparently the funds went mostly to favored agribusiness companies, and not to the poor rice farmers who still rely on cemented basketball courts and highways to dry their palay. Such age-old problems like shortage of post-harvest facilities and inadequate farm-to-market roads remain unsolved.

Other failed promises include budgetary support to agriculture. The funds to improve agricultural infrastructure continue to be below the established total requirements.

No budgetary support

The government has not once paid heed to a WTO provision that required member-countries to set aside as much as 10 percent of the gross value added (GVA) of the country’s economy as domestic support for the agriculture sector.

Had this been done, the Department of Agriculture should have been allotted P51 billion in 1999 since the computed GVA contribution of the agri-fishery sector totaled P506 billion at that time.

Government also repeatedly ignored the mandate of the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act (AFMA). Under Republic Act 8435 which created AFMA, an additional P20 billion was supposed to be appropriated on top of the regular appropriations of the DA.

AFMA’s vision was based on small-holder agriculture and a market-based model. It sought to prepare the agriculture and fisheries sector to face the challenges of globalization, including programs to ensure food security, enhance profits and incomes of agricultural producers.

The sad, sad fact is that Congress simply decided to ignore all these in its regular budget hearings. A year after AFMA became law, the regular 1998 DA approved budget was only for P15.73 billion; henceforth for several years now, the DA has been operating on a reenacted budget even lesser than P14 billion.

Now, with the elections just around the corner, there are rumors that the ACEF, which has accumulated an estimated P6 billion as of last year, is on the verge of being diverted for another purpose. Another "fertilizer scam" in the making?

And so, the suffering of our little farmers continues. They are being slammed by their rich counterparts from developed countries, and being pummeled right in their own backyard as agri authorities appear to have turned their backs on them.

This must be stopped. Will someone ever take up the cudgels for them?

Angeles City hosts poker satellite

Casino Filipino Angeles will conduct the first out-of-town qualifying/satellite tournament for the 3rd Philippine Poker Tour (PPT) Million-Peso Hold’Em Philippine Championship on Sunday, 18th March 2007. Registration starts at 12 noon.

Satellite tournaments winners are awarded guaranteed seats to the grand finals to be held on 7th and 8th July 2007. Seats to the grand finals are worth P30,000 as tournament fee and P3,000 as registration fee.

The 3rd PPT Million-Peso Hold’Em Championship is a joint project of Philippine Poker Tour (PPT) and Pagcor. It is the biggest non-wager poker skills tournament with qualifying/satellite competitions being conducted nationwide.

Details of prize structure and tournament rules for the 3rd PPT Million-Peso Hold’em Championship are posted in the official PPT website, www.PhilippinePokerTour.com. Interested parties may also call the PPT Secretariat (c/o Cindy) at 817-9092 or 812-0153.

Should you wish to share any insights, write me at Link Edge, 4th Floor, 156 Valero Street , Salcedo Village , 1227 Makati City. Or e-mail me at [email protected] or at [email protected]. For previous columns, visit my website at http://bizlinks.linkedge.biz.