01 January 2022

Best Way To Predict The Future? "Exceptional Times Call For Exceptional Measures" – Sec William Dar

Management Guru Peter Drucker famously said, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” I see Drucker’s advice as a guide of Secretary William Dar in leading the Department of Agriculture (DA) and all attached agencies (as OneDA) towards a bright future for PH Agriculture – despite the Covid chaos.
(“The best way…” image[1] from BrainyQuote)

Remember, Mr Dar is an excellent “Servant Leader” (see my essay, “The Journey of ICRISAT & William Dar. The End is Another Beginning[2],” 14 Dec 2014, iCRiSAT Watch, Blogspot.com). He proved it with unprecedented international success with ICRISAT, servant-leading it from dead last to #1, until his retirement in 2014. The perceptive leader knows what servants-employees must do to help shape the future.

ANN says (Author Not Named, 29 Dec 2021, “Dar Issues 2022 Marching Orders For DA Execs And Staff: ‘Exceptional Times Call For Extraordinary Measures[3]’”(DA.gov.ph):

We have done much to ensure our national food security in these difficult times. However, the global Covid-19 pandemic continues to limit any semblance of normalcy for people already fed up with quarantine lockdowns and mobility restrictions. In agriculture, the African Swine Fever…, the series of calamities, and the global hike in prices of inputs (corn, soybeans, fertilizer, petroleum, etc.), have aggravated the situation…

These are extremely difficult times, calling for extremely intelligent leadership and extremely creative & productive followership.

Now then, are you ready for 2022? OneDA should be. According to ANN, Sec Dar has issued instructions to observe for 2022 these 4 measures: “effective fund utilization, proactive planning & implementation, publication of operations manuals for all units, and institutionalization of food systems as advocated by the United Nations.”

“Effective fund utilization”

It’s like Mr Dar is saying, “Show me the money – where it went!” OneDA will have to show where the funds go: who, what, where, when, how, and why. If you keep records for any authorized person to review, you will have to keep your operations clean and neat. Looking at the records, any scrutinizing person should be able to add two and two together to make four, not five!

“Proactive planning and implementation”

Before you implement anything, make sure you have included it in your plans for your agency or unit, and that anyone can check it out. You plan ahead for those moments you know are coming from the people, who are your clients – remember, you are servants of the people.

“Publication of operations manual for all units”

That is a Servant Leader’s smart way of saying without saying, “You must make sure your office is operating according to published procedures that anyone can check out with.” Everyone must follow protocols, including any group wanting to work with the DA. No shenanigans!

“Institutionalization of the food systems approach”

This is something new to me. Here is an explanation by the Food & Business Knowledge Platform[4]:

A food systems approach (FSA) is a useful interdisciplinary conceptual framework for research and policy aimed at sustainable solutions for the sufficient supply of healthy food. An FSA analyses the relationships between the different parts of the food system and the outcomes of activities within the system in socio-economic and environmental/climate terms.

All in all, Mr Dar is like saying:

It’s time for OneDA to check out how Research and Policy can join hands to bring about sustainable systems for the supplies of healthy foods for Filipinos. Beyond sustainable, food supplies must address national socio-economic as well as climate change concerns.

“Address climate change concerns” – Yes Sir! And the intelligent response I see today is for farmers to practice Regenerative Agriculture.@517



[1]https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/peter_drucker_131600

[2]https://icrisatwatch.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-journey-of-icrisat-william-dar-end.html

[3]http://rfu12.da.gov.ph/2-uncategorised/5776-agriculture-secretary-william-dar-wants-the-department-of-agriculture-da-to-focus-on-four-central-measures-to-guide-policy-decisions-and-programs-next-year

[4]https://knowledge4food.net/food-systems-approach-report/

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