From the time Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took on the agriculture portfolio, presumably to imbue the Department of Agriculture with the powers of the President and compel structural reforms, to today, as on a monthly basis we are continually victimized by food shortages repeatedly forcing us to rely on foreign economies, very little has been discussed to address long-festering reasons agricultural productivity remains not simply weak, but costly.
While importers and a select few traders are happy, farmers and fisherfolk are prevented from achieving greater economies that reduce local cost and supply chain inefficiencies. This is one problem officials cannot blame on COVID-19. Instead, it is a failure to identify systemic costs. By overlaying historical graphs between fertilizer use and agricultural productivity, we would see an undeniable irony. At the about the time Marcos Sr.’s martial law was tightening its stranglehold in the mid-seventies, agricultural productivity had begun its steep decline. Ironically, fertilizer use was increasing.
Two, incompetent high-level energy management inflates power prices, thus increasing transportation and logistical costs. Think of its negative impact from transporting imported fertilizers to food preservation, refrigeration, processing, handling, and storage. All these are energy-dependent. That energy inflation in the countryside is highest worsens matters for farmers.
This unlocked the gates for corruption, cartelization, and cronyism. If Marcos wants to flush smugglers out, the best way would be to check out his Malacañang guest list.Five, the hostile and hegemonic hand of China has been controlling our fertilizer importations ever since. That’s a virtual hostage situation. 90% of our fertilizer need comes from China. For fertilizers alone, data show only 10% are produced locally.