“Agriculture is the most destructive industry that we have. More than coal mining and other extractive industries” – Alan Savoury, Greetingideas.com
Agriculture is the world’s largest industry that it employs more than a billion people around the globe. It generates employs more than one billion people and generates over $1.3 trillion worth of food annually. For its part, the Philippines contributes about Php22-23B in the past decade and the number one crop its produces according to the agriculture office of the United Nations is sugarcane but it only ranks 9th in terms of dollar value. Rice, poultry and banana are the top three economic contributors of agriculture.
RESILIENCY AND ECONOMY
The World Bank estimates that the global food security can be improved and can feed up to 80% of the world’s poor who mainly live in the rural areas. Ironically, this large part of global poor depends on agriculture. Agriculture croplands is home to half of the world’s habitation for various species or living creatures and if contained and managed well can preserve endangered species and critical habitations, protect watersheds and produce quality soil and water.
Surely, it goes back to the motive or philosophy of farming system today – if the drive and motivation is anchored on addressing hunger and environmental rehabilitation and providing livelihood to the marginal poor farmers of the world then, food security, environmental rehabilitation and climate resiliency can be achieved. But, if it is profit driven then, this will have serious and threatening impacts as it is today.
Economic benefits are crucial in an evolving and modernized agriculture but there must be a balanced fulcrum to these 3 major considerations. One cannot be sacrificed at the expense of the other.
REGENERATIVE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Abused environment, inflation in economy and the persistent challenges of hunger and poverty are inter-connected and complex. With agriculture as the core, the need for a regenerative management of resources is very imperative. Experts argue that sustainability of resources is a thing of the past because the demand for agriculture and the exponential population growth requires regeneration of food production, not simply sustained.
It is important that agricultural evolves to regeneration – sustained, high quality and increased production but, at the same time, rehabilitates soil, nourishes agriculture and provide good nutrition to mankind. In order to regenerate agriculture experts suggest that the formula should be conservation of frontiers, protection of bio-diversity and rehabilitation. There can be no miracles in agriculture if resources are abused and degraded because it is directly connected to economy and the society as a whole.
‘AGRI-HEIST?‘
Agriculture is not holistic if it is short term and does not benefit the priority targets and the environment more than the economy. Conversely, it is on a reverse trajectory. A growing mankind suffers from hunger and climate change manifests a degrading resources. The process of addressing hunger is being short cut inimical to environment and detrimental to the more than 7 billion people. One more generation and our planet is home to another 2 billion people.
Manifestations are land conversion, impacts unsustainable farming practices such as pollution, water consumption, and the like. Land conversion displaces natural habitations, reduces areas for more production and rural industrialization means building of infrastructures such as factories and processing plants that excretes wastes.
A reduced production area may provide food to the same number of people because of technology advancement but it is unsustainable much less regenerative. How, where and why we produce food is the most important concern to this day.
MIRACLE OF AGRICULTURE
Filipino farmers are getting old and the country’s agriculture has reduced significantly despite claims that we are one of the most rapidly adjusting agriculture in South East Asia. Largely, Philippine agriculture is profit-driven as evidenced by our massive production of crops for export such as banana, coffee and to some extent sugar. Some ownership of these crops are private businesses and foreign-owned. While we do this, we import what we consume with little subsidies or assistance from government from production to consumption. This a matter of affordability – a privilege not a right.
Agriculture contributes to the economy yet it misses the larger and fundamental problems of hunger, bio-diversity and sustainable management of resources and climate change resiliency.
The essence of agriculture is not to deplete soil as well as make the people suffer. It is to satisfy the latter’s need of the former. The true miracle of agriculture.*
