Have we heard the farmers lately?

I can’t wait to return to Cebu after having been away for more than a month because of the political season. Although I’m not running for office but I’m literally running here and there to assist in managing the sorties of one political party. While the job wears me out (getting only a few hours of sleep everyday), the experience was very well worth it. My recent visit included four provinces in northern Luzon Cagayan Valley, Apayao, Isabela, Kalinga and Quirino after we wrap like four provinces in Mindanao and three provinces in Samar-Leyte areas. As of this time, I am heading towards Bicol region to swing Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur and hopefully the cities of Naga and Albay.

As we move across northern Luzon, the fiery spell of El Niño can be well observed as it parched acres of crops and rivers extending from Isabela to Aparri. It was also my first time to see a long stretch of palay and corn being dried on one lane of the national road in most towns of Cagayan, Quirino and Isabela, which only indicates the country's lack of provision for drying facilities to farmers.

Philippine agriculture employs nearly 40 percent of the labor force yet many who depend on agriculture for livelihood remain among the poorest in the country. Economist Cielito F. Habito points out the biggest stumbling blocks to significant progress in Philippine agriculture "overcentralization, politicization of the bureaucracy, lack of clear organizational framework, fragmentation/weak coordination, weak technical and managerial capability, unclear communication lines, unstable budget and corruption."

Habito's observation is true as we stopped by at Santiago, Isabela. I interviewed Mang Celso who has relied on subsistence farming for 40 years said that while life in the fields is very hard he is still grateful for having been able to support his family and grandchildren. His wish is simple -- to send his grandchildren to college since none of his four children finished high school as they all got married early. His other wish is to own the land he toils (Mang Celso belongs to the seven out of ten farmers who do not own the land in the country).

At this point Mang Celso also needs the support he can get specially at this time where crop yield is at rock bottom because of the El Niño. And so far, words of assurances are all they get.      

The sense of longingness to rise from deprivation and to be able to send his children to school is not exclusive of Mang Celso alone. It is that very same wish of all farmers you see next town. And when I asked Mang Celso if he already has a president in mind, "You know what, an election is like reading back an old book because you get to hear the same story all over again." These words only bespeak of neglect. Of angst and heartache and broken promises.

The more I think about the elections, the more I also think about the quality of leadership we have. All this time, the very important voices that need to be heard remain the faintest.   In the words of satirist Jonathan Swift, “Whoever makes two ears of corn, or two blades of grass to grow where only one grew before, deserves better of mankind, and does more essential service to his country than the whole race of politicians put together.”

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