Senator Villar’s committee is very busy nowadays. Last Wednesday, she criticized the Act for Salt lodization Nationwide (ASIN) passed in 1995 during the administration of the late president Fidel Ramos. According to the said law, iodine must be incorporated into the salt to address the supposed iodine deficiency of the people. I remember there were packs of "Fidel Salt" sold in the market. Villar sarcastically recommends just taking iodine meds.
According to Villar, the growth of the salt industry was hindered by the more complicated process to add iodine to salt. What's even sadder is that in 2021, only 7% of the country's salt needs came from the local industry while 93% was imported. It is ironic that the Philippines has to import salt when we have more than 7,000 islands surrounded by the salty sea. And what baffles some senators is that the imported salt does not contain iodine.
Singapore, a small country compared to the Philippines, was able to export $21.2 million worth of salt. If that is not embarrassing, I don’t know what is. There are calls to amend the ASIN Law to revive the local salt industry. According to Agriculture Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban, it may take two years to stabilize the salt industry, which will be the focus of the administration of President Marcos Jr. Let’s hope so.
There is also a plan to import 450,000 metric tons of sugar this year because local production is said to be insufficient. It is also a commodity that the country can develop but the government should learn from what happened in Negros in 1985 when the industry collapsed due to farmers being buried in debt because of a monopoly. There is news about some poultry farms in Batangas closing or reducing operations because they were losing money. Apart from the recent pandemic, feeds have become expensive. Fear of bird flu prevents farms from expanding their chicken population. These are the reasons for a shortage in supply, causing prices to soar. Will the government end up importing eggs as well? Let’s hope not.
All the problems in the agriculture sector can be traced to a lack of support for local farmers and growers. They don't have much capital, to begin with so they have to borrow. When cultivation and harvesting begin, in comes importation and smuggling. Their harvest becomes expensive because they cannot compete with the prices brought about by these two factors. There is also the high cost of fertilizers, medicine, feeds, and others. Their products are sold at low prices which the cartels exploit. Some are discouraged to continue farming. If they bring their grievances to the government, that's where the red-tagging and other dangerous accusations are hurled against them. If the Department of Agriculture (DA) is serious about addressing these problems, it must act as soon as possible. We all know how long things move around in government especially when money is involved. President Marcos appointed himself as secretary of Agriculture because he said this sector needed the most help. I hope he can make good on this.