Unreliable government policies that disregard established practices and contracts, extreme weather phenomena and the continuing attacks of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Mindanao threaten the banana industry.
Industry players and workers in the banana sector also warned the Philippines could be overtaken by other banana exporters if these concerns are not resolved soon.
“We used to be the world’s second-largest banana producer and exporter next to Ecuador. But today, the Philippines has been edged out by Costa Rica,” said Antero Sison Jr., president of Marsman Estate Plantation Inc. (Mepi).
“Ironically, this could be the best time for us to recover because of the increasing demand from large markets, like China, but unpredictable state policies are pulling the industry down,” Sison added.
The country’s export earnings from banana plunged to $440 million in 2015, from $1.1 billion in 2014.
“We can learn to cope with extreme weather phenomena, like El Niño and the La Niña, by applying and developing climate-resilient technologies,” Sison said.
“But no technological application can be developed against the inconsistency of the policies of the Department of Agrarian Reform [DAR],” he added.
Banana growers lamented the supposed attempts by DAR officials to scuttle legitimate and valid agribusiness venture deals between banana-plantation developers and agrarian-reform beneficiaries (ARBs). They said this is in “blatant disregard” of President Duterte’s policy of honoring all contractual obligations of the government.
“DAR officials, whether deliberate or not, have been contributing to the decline of the banana industry,” said Hernando Rivero, a member of the Davao Marsman Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Development Cooperative (Damarbdevco).
The Damarbdevco has forged an agribusiness venture agreement with Mepi, which donated the land cultivated by members of the cooperative.
Agribusiness-venture agreements (AVAs) between cooperatives formed by ARBs and banana-plantation developers are among the most successful partnerships in the agriculture sector. The AVAs have enabled banana growers to earn more than farmers planting rice or other crops.
Sison said the DAR appears to be unconcerned over the plight of banana ARBs when its head, Secretary Rafael Mariano, ordered a blanket review of all AVAs or leaseback agreements despite these deals already upheld as legal, fair and aboveboard by government authorities and the courts.
The DAR has been after the cancellation of the AVA between Mepi and Damarbdevco.
“It saddens us to think the DAR doesn’t care whether our ARBs and other workers in our plantation lose their jobs. Their officials are indifferent to their plight, and couldn’t care less if our farmers and their families go hungry,” Sison said.
‘Extortion’
Hernani P. Geronimo, spokesman of Lapanday Foods Corp. (LFC), said the review of AVAs may have “emboldened” the communist insurgents to continue with their attacks against banana plantations.
“The attack launched by this lawless armed group last April 29 against two of LFC’s packaging plants and a farm in Davao City also displaced allied businesses that relied on the operations of our packaging plants,” Geronimo said.
“It also deprived Davao City and the national government of taxes that contribute to the well-being of the nation,” he added.
Geronimo said the NPA appears to be mocking Duterte, because many of the atrocities were committed in his home city of Davao.
“The attack on our plants will affect the export capability of the Davao region, as pointed out by the National Economic and Development Authority, since Lapanday is one of the biggest producers of Cavendish bananas in Davao,” Geronimo added.
6 comments
Gulping gulpi na ang banana industry natin. Instead na tulungan ng goberyno because it is the highest dollar earner of the country it seems na yung nasa position pa are the one’s sabotaging it. we already have the rebels to deal with, pati ba naman DAR at itong si Alvarez. I hope President Duterte will do something about these problems.
Hindi lang ang banana industry ang maapektohan nito kundi pati ang economy ng bansa. Tama nga ang sinabi ni General Luna na kapwa Pilipino ang nagpapabagsak sa kapwa Pilipino. Why? Kung kailan paangat na tayo pilit naman tayong hinihila ng iba pa baba. Wake up! Dont be selfish. Many lives are already affected.
The banana farm workers and the farmers are most affected. These NPA rebels only want to extort money from the banana industry for their own good and self interest.
The government has to get its act together. Business and politics do not mix. We’ve been experiencing the results of mixing the two together ever since Marcos implemented PD 27; agrarian reform covering rice and corn lands. And expanded by Cory to cover everything else. Even the real farmers(not leftist rallyists) are voting with their feet. They’ve been transferring to the urban centers leaving their small uneconomically sized plots and leaving a chasm. At this point in time the harm these land reform programs have caused may be irreversible. Our farmers today have an average age 57 years. Too old, too inefficient, too poor, too unequipped to compete with the big boys abroad.
Mali no. Kung sino pa ang productive contributors of society, sila pa ang di nakakakuha ng proper government support, and yes, in our agri industry case, sometimes it’s even the government that kills the industry. Mariano and his ilk, the NPAs shouldn’t be trusted, the President is wrong to put leftists in positions of power.
Pambira talaga tong NPA. These rebels should really not be trusted including Mariano. He is sabotaging our economy instead of helping making things better.