A year ago (July 19, 2010), I wrote about the topic, “Agripreneurship: Key to poverty alleviation”, highlighting the failure of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in alleviating the plight of the beneficiaries of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). Then, I emphasized in the aforementioned column or article (as a premise) that of the country’s population, save for a handful of middle class and a pinch of those whom we call the elite, 90% of the rest maybe considered as the socialites among mendicants. The remaining 10% of the unfortunates are simply referred to as “beggars”, “mendicants” or “panhandlers”.
Consequently, when crisis looms, we are severely hit. Crushed and mangled, all accusing fingers are pointed to one direction – poverty. Making matters worst is our propensity to focus on poverty at face value not its roots. Naturally, whatever initiatives we try to implement could not even put a tiny dent in its surface. Sarcastically, then, I fearlessly stressed that in our solitude, we can even wonder if all these acts are deliberate and are just orchestrated. The possibility that our government leaders are not seriously considering any solution to free them (the poor) from bondage would, in fact, even be a big truth. After all, having poverty makes it handy for politicians to have a platform in every election – poverty alleviation.
So that, then, I unequivocally underscored that “what is imperative now is for this government to let other line agencies (like DTI, DA, DOST, etc.) get involve and help equip these beneficiaries (CARP beneficiaries) with sound entrepreneurial skills by taking a more holistic and comprehensive approach. We should develop successful new farmers by providing them experience-based production and sound business-management training. Such training must include among others, concerns in production, business, ecology and environment”.
Today, such wish has become a reality. It is heartwarming that finally the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department of Agriculture (DA) have forged an alliance to help farmers and fishermen develop their businesses. As DTI Secretary Gregory Domingo led the opening of the Agribusiness Center with DA Secretary Proceso Alcala in Diliman recently to coincide with the 113th anniversary of the DA, the two agencies committed (through this Agribusiness Center) to help farmers and fishermen in business licensing, trade facilitation and export market exposure.
Among others, this P12-million project “houses an information center, export showroom, an activity center and a café, where the public can sample native delicacies and recipes from chefs demonstrating their cooking skills and culinary expertise”. Moreover, this center will serve as a “one-stop shop” to deliver business services closer to the farmers and fishermen like business name registration, certifications, permits and licensing.
Finally, we can now rejoice that a real and permanent solution is here. Why rejoice? It is because in the past we’ve always been harping about solutions to our lingering problems that are either so temporary in nature or are heavily cloth with selfish political interest.
On top of the list is food shortage. All these years, this concern has been provided with temporary solutions. The temporary solutions are a combination of rice importation and government subsidy through the National Food Authority (NFA). These initiatives as solutions are mere perceptions. It is just like a painkiller prescribed for a cancer patient. It might take out the pain momentarily but not cure it. Precariously, these temporarily solutions are disguising as permanent. Worst, our government executives are embracing it as such.
Lest we forget, one of the more popular programs of all governments-that is from Ramon Magsaysay to Gloria Macapagal Arroyo- has been the land for the landless program. While these governments had termed it differently in their stay, the ultimate objective is the same. Supposedly, in trying to empower them by owning the lands they till, they will not only free themselves out of poverty, they shall be able help this country attain food-sufficiency.
On the contrary, however, instead of helping this country be self-sufficient, we are continuing to subsidize this program. All these years, the beneficiaries have continued to behave like slaves when in fact, money-wise, this government had already spent a lot to free them. Worst, they’ve started to act like mendicants by raking in over P4.0 billion in annual subsidy.
With all these annual budgets for many years now, what has so far been achieved? Nothing much. Except for a few, some lands are abandoned. Other groups of beneficiaries who organized themselves into cooperatives are not cultivating them. Ironically, some of these beneficiaries are leasing out their lands and content themselves by simply earning rental.
A typical example of how useless this program is can be seen when one visits Manjuyod, Negros Oriental. The once mighty SyCip Plantation Inc. is not even a shadow of its old stature after being covered by the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). Then, the beneficiaries organized themselves into a cooperative and managed the affairs of the entire hacienda. Unfortunately, the cooperative was unable to run it profitably. Consequently, Landbank reportedly foreclosed this huge property.
Now, some portions are cultivated. Sarcastically, however, non-beneficiaries of CARP maintain these. These non-beneficiaries are mostly entrepreneurs and are profitably cultivating the same land where the beneficiaries failed.
This scenario isn’t difficult to comprehend. It simply means that they should abandon the mentality of slaves and bury the attitude of mendicants. They are now free to till the land they own and be successful entrepreneurs (or as the new coined term aptly labeled it, agripreneurs).
With this recent establishment of the Agribusiness Center, these farmers will now finally see the light of day. From this development, what is imperative now is for this government to support this program continuously. Through this Agribusiness Center, other line agencies should get involve and help equip these beneficiaries with sound entrepreneurial skills by taking a more holistic and comprehensive approach. We should develop successful new farmers by providing them experience-based production and sound business-management training. Such training must include among others, concerns in production, business, ecology and environment.
Training on production should include planting, harvesting, irrigation system, livestock, etc. Business trainings must include marketing, finances, budgeting, etc.
To ensure success, this government must also provide the necessary infrastructure, such as, irrigation, storage facilities, transport equipment, packing and processing facilities.
Once and for all, this government should be straightforward. In the past, we all know that our former presidents tasked DAR (which have been ran by ideologues) to take the lead in this poverty alleviation program for some ulterior motives. While we all know that our country’s leaders need these ideologues’ political support because of their mass base, the beneficiaries’ betterment and self-sufficiency through agripreneurship are still paramount and necessary.
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