“For we must farm or die.” – Lord Northbourne
An assertion that agriculture remains the lifeblood of the economy of Negros Occidental is yet to be realized in its fullest potentials. The province more than half a million hectares of agricultural land as one of the investment priority areas at ensuring food security and agricultural productivity may remain a “wishful thinking”.
MAJOR HINDRANCES
There are two major concerns that we must address. One, land ownership concentration among the wealthy and the sugar barons. And, high-dependence on a single cash crop that lacks agricultural diversification.
Since the post-World War II there have been a number of agrarian reform programs implemented. The latest was RA 6657 enacted in 1988 considered as the most comprehensive agrarian reform program. After 35 years after of implementation with 2 extensions in aid of legislation its implementation in Negros as admitted by the main implementers is one of the most challenging and critical areas.
For more than three decades it has covered over 4 million hectares distributed to three million beneficiaries with only 53 percent of this received individual titles. Negros Occidental has the biggest balance still to be distributed of almost 100,000 as of 2020 according to DAR Region 6 and, all of these lands are privately agricultural lands and prime sugar plantation farms.
This characterization of the land subject for re-distribution land owners’ resistance is inevitable. This simply means that legitimate re-distribution remains in peril and the product and the benefits resulting thereof remain in the hands of the privileged.
For almost a century Negros main agriculture product is sugarcane. Sugar was produced mainly for export and is the cash crop of the province. While it contributed to the economy it ironically starved tens of thousands. This is the reason that Negros was a social volcano and a hub of insurgency in the eighties.
Our agriculture today cannot afford to remain dependent on sugar that it must diversify enhanced with tourism. But diversification and agri-tourism must scale up and innovate. We are now at an age where digitalization and e-commerce are the norms. They should be the major platforms while encouraging major actors on the ground such as our farmers and ARB’s fully aware of their own production intricacies but only need to be assisted with more knowledge and technologies.
DEMAND VS. POTENTIALS
We are now 2,623,172 Negrenses. The questions that continue to persist are:
– Will Negros agriculture will be able to feed its people?
– Should we continue to depend on sugar cane or diversify
Despite the increasing population agricultural potentials remain vast. We have more than 540,000 hectares of agricultural land and our staple (rice) has registered 200 percent rice sufficiency as far as production is concerned particularly in the 4th district as the rice granary of the province. The problem however, is the proper redistribution of this produce where affordability remains a major head-scratcher.
There is no doubt the economic contribution of agriculture to the local and national economies is significant as data have shown. We rebounded to 7.1 percent growth rate from 5.8 percent in 2020 with its GDP of 230.7 billion in December last year. Quite cementing Negros’ status as the top province in the region in terms of growth rate.
CONTRASTING REALITIES
On the flipside, we have a poverty incidence of 23.6 percent in 2021 equivalent to 80,034 poor families and an unemployment rate of almost 6 percent as recorded that includes even seasonal workers. Seasonal workers are often found in agriculture sector with the prominence of the sugar industry where hunger and food insecurity dwell.
Even our marine areas considered part of agriculture can only account to 20-30 percent of small fishermen and the rest are medium and large fishers employing at least 10 people where fishing is aimed shipments and distribution outside of the province.
RISKING POTENTIALS
It is quite disheartening that despite the potentials of Negros agriculture yet it is put at risk. When economic recovery is only aimed achieving big numbers not reflective among the populace especially those who need them most the gap between the rich and the poor widens. When agricultural productivity is aplenty yet ownership is limited to a few then food security can only exist to those who have access and can afford.
These challenges rest in the hands of the main driver – the government. Economic growth is optimizing full potentials and full potentials must not be limiting it should be inclusive.*
