In my former life as a newspaper editor, my late publisher would reprimand the desk every time the newspaper came out late on issue day. In his opinion, a newspaper, no matter how well-put editorially, was ultimately useless if it did not get to the market on time—and that means on the streets and in readers’ hands by sunup.

                It was thus important to always balance editorial content and quality with time of delivery. Otherwise, the paper will remain unappreciated by the market, and thus unprofitable. By late morning, unless the paper’s on time, people would have gotten their news elsewhere, and a well-written journal will be nothing more than fish wrapper.

To a large extent, the same can be said of farm products, many of which are highly perishable. Logistics, including transportation and efficiently managing shelf life, will determine whether farmers will make or lose money. Also, it will be pointless for a farmer to produce more than he or she can sell or store. And a limitation on either or both market size and/or access to logistics ultimately makes farming unprofitable.   

It is thus always encouraging whenever more local farm products make their way, particularly to foreign markets. After all, for local agriculture to grow and further develop, Filipino farmers—and not just their landowners—need to be sufficiently prosperous, which is the true sign of a wealthy nation. Agriculture, after all, is one of the pillars or economic growth.

Admittedly, not all wealthy nations enjoy large farming communities. Singapore is the perfect example, as well as Arab countries. But they get their advantage from other resources. In the case of Middle Eastern countries, oil export is the main revenue source. However, it is precisely such disparity in natural resources that allows countries like the Philippines to harness the potential, particularly of local agriculture, to cater to the world market.

One positive sign is the recent approval by Beijing for eight local companies to export mangoes to China—a large market of more than 1 billion people. Agriculture officials claim this development will benefit close to 2.5 million mango growers nationwide. China reportedly accounts for about 80 percent of Philippine mango exports, and eight companies have recently passed further scrutiny by Beijing of local methods for disinfecting against fruit fly.

With China’s 1 billion people against the Philippines’ 88 million, only through more exports can local farmers truly benefit. While the country can target self-sufficiency, in the case of mangoes, an annual per-capita consumption of, say, 100 mangoes can result in sales of only 8.8 billion mangoes—or 3,500 mangoes for each of the country’s 2.5 million mango growers. Assuming a farm-gate price of about P20 per piece or maybe P60 per kilogram, that’s an annual income of just P70,000 for every mango grower—or P190 daily—excluding cost of production.

And while such a profit may be enough to keep a mango grower from getting hungry in a day, it is not enough to keep him or her above the poverty line. Neither can he or she subsist purely on mangoes. Neither is it reasonable to expect per-capita consumption of mangoes to continue climbing significantly every year. In sum, with its population and present market size, local mango growers cannot expect significant profit prospects from their farming—unless they export direct or at least supply to exporters. Even local food producers cannot give mango growers the kind of profits exports can.

In this case of mangoes, local self-sufficiency may not be enough to keep farms economically sustainable. Neither will subsistence farming do. Only through the export of surplus can mango growers expect a real windfall—or at least a profit commensurate to the effort of growing and nurturing an orchard. But one can export only if markets abroad will open up. Otherwise, a glut resulting from farming efficiency will only tend to dampen local prices.

For mangoes, China is the obvious target, given the size of its market. India is a potential, although it grows its own variety of mangoes. Indonesia is another large market; so are Japan and Australia. Beijing and Manila should both be given credit for creating the initial opportunity for local mango farmers. But the effort shouldn’t end there. The Philippines still has tremendous potential to produce agriculture surplus, and China should be convinced to source more farm products locally. By providing them greater market access, local farmers can be better assured of profits, and it is only then can they be encouraged to invest more in local farming.

The Philippine government should, likewise, do its part in providing for infrastructure and improving logistics for exporters of farm products. For it is only in assuring the farmers’ viability, particularly through exports, and in making them sufficiently prosperous that they can be encouraged to grow. Exports should ultimately be the result of local surplus, and local surplus, obviously, demands production efficiency. And this is most crucial to achieving self-sufficiency. While market size is the driver, and logistics provides for access, profit is the real motivator for farmers to produce. 

Comments to matort@yahoo.com.

SO what’s wrong with the President taking time to hobnob with the global CEOs or top executives of multinational firms? That was the retort of Palace officials to fresh revelations of sightings of President Arroyo and her husband in Shenzen on a private golf course owned by—drum roll—the Chinese telecom giant ZTE Co. Yes, the ZTE of the aborted national broadband network (NBN) deal that stirred a hornet’s nest and engaged the country for several weeks.

Banking regulators still don’t get it: The best candidate for making access to finance truly universal in a developing country is the mobile phone.

In my former life as a newspaper editor, my late publisher would reprimand the desk every time the newspaper came out late on issue day. In his opinion, a newspaper, no matter how well-put editorially, was ultimately useless if it did not get to the market on time—and that means on the streets and in readers’ hands by sunup.

Omerta: Meralco’s comeuppance

In a number of ways, the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) reminds us of Rameses II, described in the Old Testament as the most oppressive pharaoh (or god-king) Ancient Egypt ever had. By analogy, we Meralco costumers are Rameses II’s oppressed Hebrew slaves, yearning for deliverance, hoping to stage our own exodus from the present untenable situation of exorbitantly high power rates.

Servant Leader: ‘Spe Salvi’–Part XVII

Judgment: a setting for learning and practicing hope

“He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead.”

From the earliest times, the prospect of the Judgment has influenced Christians in their daily living as a criterion by which to order their present life, as a summons to their conscience and, at the same time, as hope in God’s justice. Faith in Christ has never looked merely backward or merely upward, but always also forward to the hour of justice that the Lord repeatedly proclaimed.