JUST when prices of rice and other agricultural commodities have become volatile, not just because of climate change and logistical disruptions resulting from the Ukraine war but from such unexpected dements as an Indian ban on some of its rice exports, we have the most dysfunctional department in the country — the Agriculture department.
The blame is solely on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., although he can easily move to restore the department's effectiveness by doing what he should have done on Day 1 of his presidency, which is to appoint a qualified technocrat, preferably with political skills, as a full-time Agriculture secretary.Instead, he appointed himself as concurrent Agriculture secretary, which, as expected, in effect meant that the department was leaderless.
While little noticed by the metropolitan elite and media, the Agricultural department is one of our most important government economic institutions, as its nationwide staff, especially of what are called agriculture 'extension workers,' are our farmers main link to state assistance and to modern farming technology.The fact that 19 percent of our rice consumption is imports depends on many factors, among them the reduction in both rice hectarage and the number of rice farmers.
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