BBM Sir, A UPLB Agriculturist, I Am Looking For That PH Agriculture Roadmap…..

BBM is leading the Department of Agriculture (DA) to transform PH Agriculture. I have been expecting him to come out with a Roadmap… a roadmap is not a straight line… “From Farmer Poverty to Prosperity.”

(“Roadmap” from slidesgo.com)

ANN says “BBM Sets Directions To Transform PH Agriculture” (Author Not Named, 08 Oct 2022, Manila Times, manilatimes.net). Not so fast, Miss ANN! When you give directions, you must describe where you’re coming from vis-a-vis where you’re going!

What PH Agriculture Roadmap? We can learn from experts, and I find this clue helpful: “Vision And Mission Statements -- A Roadmap Of Where You Want To Go And How To Get There” (Aug 2016, Iowa State University, extension.iastate.edu): “Where you want to go and how to get there.”

Miss ANN says:

The Department of Agriculture being [led] by the [President] himself, Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr, brings a new dimension to the development of the country's farming and fishery sector, especially now that the global food system has been shocked by the current geopolitical crisis.

But Miss ANN neither shows nor states that “new dimension” except to say BBM is pushing for agriculture’s:

mechanization and modernization of the sector
undertaking more scientific research and development
building more farm-to-market roads
higher output for palay
post-production and processing (of farm products).

The DA has been ordered by BBM to distribute “high quality seeds, fertilizer discount vouchers, biofertilizers, and farm machinery and equipment to farmers.”

I agriculturist am still looking for that PH Agriculture Roadmap!

Miss ANN says, “With the [PH President] being the Agriculture [Secretary], the DA can proceed with more political will in implementing high-impact programs for farmers, fishers and agribusiness companies.” Not so fast, Miss ANN – “more political will” and more “high-impact programs” are nothing without that Roadmap I'm insisting the DA should producefirst, whether the department is run by BBM or not. The first thing BBM should insist is:

Help me build that Roadmap for a healthier and happier PH Agriculture!

Miss ANN says, “One of President Marcos' first [moves] to ensure the country's food security is to give the DA a higher budget for next year, or P163.7 billion, which is P46.5 billion higher than 2022's P117.2-billion allocation.” No Ma'am, no Sir! Food security is only one concern, and

A much Higher Agriculture Budget is worth Nothing without a Roadmap!

Miss ANN says:

To increase the country's palay production, the DA, as ordered by President Marcos, distributed high quality seeds, fertilizer discount vouchers, biofertilizers, and farm machinery and equipment to farmers.

As of 31 August 2022, a total of 527,071 bags of hybrid seeds and 479,483 bags of certified seeds were distributed to eligible farmer-beneficiaries to cover 1.006 million hectares.

At best, those are All Roads – where is the Roadmap?

Here is another idea of a roadmap, from former IRRI Director MS Swaminathan (brainyquote.com):

To ensure food security for all, we should be clear about the definition of the problem, the precise index of measuring impact and the road map to achieve the goal.

Touché!@517