From Facebook sharing by Nestor Maniebo Pestelos, a writing friend of college days 60 years ago, an article by another common friend, Magsaysay Award-winning and life-long successful aggie journalist Zac Sarian: “Advice To Neophytes: Don’t Borrow From The Bank[1]!” (14 August 2020, zacsarian.com):
I am shocked. Zac has been used to highattention-getting titles all these years – but times have drastically changed. Zac has to mind more the pandemic lockdown and what, among other things, it has been doing to our farmers. And, most of all, what Secretary of Agriculture William Dar has brought to Philippine Agriculture in the matter of inclusive development, what he calls “The New Thinking for Agriculture.” All that includes re-educating the Filipino farmer from his helpless, business-mindless ways.
Thus, as an aggie journalist self-crusading for new thinking for agriculture, I am shocked because Zac is also essentially pointing to banks as enemies of the farmers. This is Old Thinking.
In his article in his personal website, Zac says:
ON FINANCING – Domingo is a CPA and is an expert in money matters. How do you finance your farm project? He says that it is best to fully finance your project with your own money. If you have to borrow, borrow from relatives or friends who trust you. They will not be as demanding as a bank in getting back your loan.
Tell me how many farmers can you count on your 10 fingers who have their own money to fully finance their farming? My father, not a poor man, he had to borrow every planting season – he was notbusiness-minded. Farmers must learn to be business-minded.
In fact, Mr PH Secretary of Agriculture has been campaigning, among many other things, for banks, especially the LandBank, to assist farmers with adequate and affordable loans.
Singularly, I have been proselytizing for Super Coops since 6 years ago (see my essay, “The Super Coops of 2014[2],” 30 October 2014, Nagkaisa); Nagkaisa is our coop in my hometown of Asingan, Pangasinan, where I was a board member. A Super Coop will supply all farmers’ needs, with super-friendly arrangements. Goodbye usurious 5-6 arrangements!
More. With a Super Coop helping, the farmer will avoid the mistake of Mr Domingo growing lettuce in Ifugao only to realize that he had no buyers! With further advice, the farmer will avoid the other mistake of Mr Domingo of growing beautiful Diamante-Max tomato of East-West Seeds and be offered a low price of P3/kilo. It’s not the place of growing crops – it’s the need you have to consider. Or build up. A Super Coop would do both for its members.
“It is best to fully finance your project with your money.” Mr Domingo doesn’t know that farmers hardly have money? And even if they had money, what about business-mindedness?
Farming in the Philippines is not as easy as ABC as Mr Domingo himself found out. I wish it were!@517
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