THURSDAY / 04 MAY 2017

IN FOCUS: Agricultural Production Support

Despite the government’s attempt to develop other industries as economic drivers, the agriculture sector remains central to the Philippine economy. According to the January 2016 Labor Force Survey, it is the second largest employer in the country, providing opportunities to 27 percent of Filipino workers. It also produces the bulk of the population’s food needs and provides the raw materials that fuel the rest of the economy.

However, the sector has registered laggard growth for many years despite the huge public investments poured into it. In 2015, the government spent PHP 114 billion for agriculture, 32 percent higher than the expenditures in 2014, based on Philippine Statistics Authority data. Roehlano Briones, senior research fellow at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), attributes the sector’s perennial poor performance to the government’s failure to adopt the necessary reforms, such as the transition from mere farming to agribusiness. This can be achieved, he said, by shifting to high-value crops, which are more profitable than traditional crops. For a full agricultural transition, Briones also urges the government to capitalize on agricultural production support, such as infrastructure, credit and insurance, and research and development (R&D). Unfortunately, it is also in these aspects that the Philippine government usually falls short.

PIDS President Gilbert Llanto, in a paper, noted that the lack of rural infrastructure can partly explain the decline in the country’s agricultural productivity. He underscored that greater mobility and access to markets and support services through infrastructure permit entry into new and possibly more profitable opportunities. He encouraged the government to invest in rural infrastructure, which has direct and indirect effects on the productivity of the agriculture sector.

A modern and operational irrigation system is also vital in attaining agricultural progress. However, the country has ineffective and outdated irrigation facilities. In a study, PIDS Consultants Cristina David and Arlene Inocencio attributed these to “inadequate water supply, inappropriate designs, and difficulties in operation and maintenance”, which the government must address to improve the national irrigation system.

In recent years, weather-related shocks have taken a huge toll on farmers’ livelihoods. The government provides agricultural insurance through the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) to help farmers cope with natural hazards and pest infestations. However, a multisite impact evaluation project conducted by PIDS revealed that the program has a low uptake among farmers due to PCIC’s low presence at the grassroots and insufficient insurance coverage. According to PIDS Senior Research Fellow and Project Director Celia Reyes, because of the inadequate funding given to PCIC, the agency had to offer a small insurance cover to service more farmers.

R&D activities can also bolster agricultural gains. Unfortunately, they remain one of the government’s underfunded programs. Ideally, the average spending for R&D should be equal to 1 percent of a country’s gross domestic product. In the Philippines, this is only 0.14 percent in 2013 based on World Bank data.

Inarguably, the Philippines’ agriculture sector still requires a great deal of comprehensive review and analyses, research-based interventions, innovations, and political will to make it more efficient, competitive, and resilient.

You may access the following publications as well as related studies from the PIDS website and the SocioEconomic Research Portal for the Philippines. Simply type the relevant keywords in the Search box.

• Impact Assessment of the Agricultural Production Support Services of the Department of Agriculture (DA) on the Income of Poor Farmers/Fisherfolk: Review of the Evidence

• Poverty and Agriculture in the Philippines: Trends in Income Poverty and Distribution

• Crop Insurance: Security for Farmers and Agricultural Stakeholders in the Face of Seasonal Climate Variability

• Credit Subsidy in Philippine Agriculture

• Evaluation of the Financial Sustainability of the Agricultural Insurance Programs of the PCIC

• Philippine Agriculture Saddled by Poor Irrigation Systems

• The Potentials of Agricultural Insurance as a Poverty Reduction Tool

• Is the Promise Being Fulfilled?...Microfinance in thePhilippines: Status, Issues and Challenges

• Does Poor Rural Infrastructure Constrain Agricultural Productivity?

•  Agricultural Credit and Policy Council (ACPC): Performing More than It Should

• Is the Agricultural Insurance Program of the Philippines Serving the Poor?

• Study on Public and Private Expenditures on Research and Development: An Integrative Report

• The Impact of Infrastructure on Agricultural Productivity

July 13, 2017, 9-5PM
ERIA-PIDS-MinDA-ASPublic Symposium on “Building ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community and Nation Building”
Venue: Marco Polo Hotel, Davao City

May 10, 2017, 2-4PM
Book Launch: "Unintended Consequences: The Folly of Uncritical Thinking"
Venue: PIDS Conference Room, 18th Floor Three Cyberpod Centris - North Tower, EDSA cor. Quezon Ave., Quezon City

The Philippine Journal of Development is a professional journal published by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies. It accepts papers that examine key issues in development and have strong relevance to policy development. As a multidisciplinary social science journal, it accepts papers in the fields of economics, political science, public administration, sociology, and other related disciplines. It considers papers that have strong policy implications on national or international concerns, particularly development issues in the Asia-Pacific region.

CLICK HERE for the guidelines in the preparation of articles. Submissions and inquiries may be sent to PJD@mail.pids.gov.ph.

• One (1) Senior Research Specialist for the online dissemination platforms of PIDS
  
  
• One (1) Administrative Officer V (Item No. AFD 05)
  
  
• Preparing the Philippines for the Fourth Industrial Revolution: A Scoping Study
  
  
• Technical Assistance for PIDS Publications
  
  
• Invitation to BID for the Procurement of Various Information Technology Equipment For CY 2017

POLICY NOTE

• PN 2017-08: Reviving the Wood Processing Industry of the Philippines
  by Danilo C. Israel
  
  Wood processing is an important downstream activity of the forestry sector. It adds economic value to log, diversifies its product, and increases the incomes and employment of involved communities. However, the practice of wood processing has declined in the Philippines. This Policy Note identifies major issues in the wood processing value chain and provides policy recommendations and actions to address them. One of its key findings is that the implementation of Executive Order (EO) 23 not only affected the supply of wood products to the wood processing industry but also increased unemployment in the rural areas. The order also encourages the practice of illegal logging. The study recommends the review of EO 23 to make it more equitable to stakeholders. It also encourages the government and the private sector to consider expanding the coverage of the manufacturing road maps to include other wood processing industries that have strong potential. Click here for the full article.
  
  
  

• DP 2017-18: Review of Intra-ASEAN Nontariff Measures on Trade in Goods
  by Erlinda M. Medalla and Melalyn C. Mantaring
  
  
• DP 2017-17: The Renewable Energy Policy Debate in the Philippines
  by Maureen Ane D. Rosellon
  
  
• DP 2017-16: The Promises and Pains in Procurement Reforms in the Philippines
  by Adoracion M. Navarro and Juan Alfonso O. Tanghal
  
  
• DP 2017-15: Evaluation of the Impact of the Agricultural Insurance Program of PCIC on Agricultural Producers in Region IV-A
  by Felino P. Lansigan et al.
  
  
• DP 2017-14: Understanding the New Philippine Competition Act
  by Erlinda M. Medalla
  
  
• DP 2017-13: Reducing Unnecessary Regulatory Burden: The Philippine Tuna Industry
  by Gilberto M. Llanto, Ma. Kristina P. Ortiz, and Cherry Ann D. Madriaga
  
  
• DP 2017-12: Evaluation of the Impact of the Agricultural Insurance Program of PCIC on Agricultural Producers in Region II
  by Vilma D. Conrado et al.
  
  
• DP 2017-11: What Does ASEAN Mean to ASEAN Peoples? (The Philippine Case)
  by Sheila V. Siar, Jose Ramon G. Albert, and Gilberto M. Llanto
  
  
• DP 2017-10: Competition for the Market: A Policy Framework for Improving Bus Operation along EDSA
  by Gilberto M. Llanto and Hope A. Gerochi