When Disasters Strike: Unmasking the Realities of the Filipino Farmers

Transforming Philippine agriculture into a dynamic, high-growth sector is

essential for the country to speed up recovery, poverty reduction and inclusive growth,
according to the latest report released by the World Bank in June 2020. However, since
the past decade, there has been an observable decrease in the agriculture sector in the
country’s gross domestic product (GDP). The significant decrease in productivity, high
production costs, and low government support to the sector, among other things, have
led to a crisis in Philippine agriculture (CIDA-LGSP, 2003). The uneven distribution of
resources, and negligence towards the agriculture sector has worsened poverty in rural
areas.
Dr. William Dollente Dar was re-appointed as Secretary of Agriculture in 2019,
introducing his idea of “New Thinking for Agriculture” anchored on the vision: A food-
secure Philippines with prosperous farmers and fisherfolk. The question then, is that,
have we really been treading on this path towards the goal of increasing productivity
and making farmers and fishers prosperous so far? After all, it is the government and
the system at its very core that can make a vast difference if we are to achieve this goal.

While it is pragmatic to immediately respond to the call of our farmers during

disasters, the government is doing efforts that are futile at worst and temporary at best.
The agriculture sector is highly vulnerable because it is exposed to natural disasters
and its adverse consequences. This analytical essay covers the following matters: news
and information about Filipino farmers that were hit by natural disasters in the
Philippines, particularly some typhoons within the last decade; their sentiments towards
the government during such times of distress; and a diagnosis to the ills of the
agriculture industry, in order to navigate towards a more promising future in a post-
pandemic world.

Farmers are no strangers to devastations caused by natural disasters. Coconut

farmers in Leyte affected by typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) did not receive help from the
government on time and were forced to borrow money (Al Jazeera, 2013). Leyte
Governor, Dominico Petilla suggests that farmers get into more resilient crops that will
be easier to recover when typhoon hits. But the question is: Is this enough? While this
may appear to be worthy goal, this means nothing when the farmers feel that they are
not getting the support from government. The huge humanitarian response in the
aftermath of that year’s super typhoon saved thousands of lives but three months on,
the poorest coconut farmers, traders and fisher people are being left out of the recovery
effort (Oxfam, 2014).

A documentary by Al Jazeera featured the farmers in Nueva Ecija that were hit
hard during the Typhoon Lando (Koppu) in 2015. Ninety percent of the devastated
farmers do not have the money to start on their own, which opts them to borrow money
from lenders despite their inability to pay high interest rates, leaving them in deeper
debt. “The funds that the government should use to support us (farmers) do not go to
us, it goes to buying imported rice from countries like Vietnam,” says Bernardo Calilung,
a farmer. Nueva Ecija province is considered the rice-growing heartland of Northern
Philippines, but even before typhoon Koppu hit, farmers were already vulnerable to
extreme weather conditions brought about by climate change, where harvests coincided
with the arrival of strong typhoons (Al Jazeera, 2015). With regards to this matter, Vice
President, Leni Robredo asserted that “It is not acceptable that every disaster we give
out seedlings to recuperate. We really need to study which plant can and can’t grow.
What is more agriculturally sound to grow, what kind of infrastructure should be there so
the solutions would be more permanent.”
The farmers were no exception to the economic backlash of the COVID-19
pandemic. The lockdowns imposed in response to it have added to the burden for
farmers and traders, whose movements are now restricted. Farmers are among the
beneficiaries of the government’s 1.17 trillion peso stimulus package but these
interventions are still not enough to fully support them, remaining vulnerable to natural
disasters and the limitations of the pandemic, which the government sees affecting the
country (Mongabay, 2020). To make matters worse, Typhoon 'Rolly' destroys P2 billion
worth of crops affecting about 31,000 farmers (Manila Bulletin, 2020), among such
crops were rice, corn and high value commercial crops (Manila Standard, 2020).
Agriculture Secretary William Dar noted the availability of the Quick Response Fund
amounting to P400 million and loan assistance of P25,000 per farmer under the Survival
and Recovery Loan Program.
In the 2017, President Rodrigo Duterte discouraged rice importation in order to
protect local rice farmers (Rappler, 2018) but ironically, because agriculture has been
neglected in the Philippines for the last 20 years, rice production was reduced, farmers
are among the poorest people in the community, and the country is forced to become
one of the world’s biggest importers of rice (Aljazeera, 2015). Just a few decades ago,
we were able to provide rice for our own selves, now we import rice from Vietnam and
Thailand. We have similarities with the former country in terms of population, land area,
and agricultural area. Where then, did we falter? There are many factors: focus on rice
self-sufficiency, long-drawn land reform that led to lack of scale, lack of continuity of
programs, absence of meritorious civil service, political influences in key appointments,
and others (Agriculture Monthly, 2019).
Resilience and self-sufficiency of the farmers alone is futile when not backed by
government support. Not to mention that we have a problematic concept of “resilience”
– one that has become depoliticized, and is rather viewed as self-help rather than a
synthesis of social and political processes. Our farmers are vulnerable in this typhoon-
prone country. Consequences brought by continuous exposure to natural disasters
drives them back to the cycle of poverty wherein they cannot move on. What is needed
now is a shift in government policies, i.e. the head of the Department of Agriculture
should be a farmer – one that is both knowledgeable and passionate, as he/she
represents an essential part of society which he/she is a member. This should be true to
all other departments in the Philippine bureaucracy.
Our farmers can be educated about techniques and strategies of farming like
integrated and sustainable farming methods, and other new innovations and
advancements of the agriculture industry. But these seminars should be partnered with
modernized equipment to make its goal possible. Integrated and sustainable farming
buttressed by proper and modern machinery and equipment also gives the farmer an
opportunity to have more than one form of livelihood. By then, we can mitigate total loss
of livelihood like that of the farmers in Iloilo whose entire lands were devastated by the
typhoon, and had no other option but to work in labouring sites and borrow money just
to have capital to start over again.
Many small-scale Filipino farmers still use carabaos in plowing their land. It is
more efficient to use plowing and tilling machines and equipment. Pragmatically
speaking, it is easier not only to recover, but to mitigate the effects of any natural
disaster when our farmers are better-equipped and the infrastructures are appropriate.
The government usually provides equipment to big-scale farming industry because of
their bigger tax contribution, and return of investment is much assured, but this is at the
expense of small-scale farmers who are left behind in the advancement. They are more
vulnerable. The entire agriculture itself is the investment – small-scale or big-scale.
Land reform is a reasonable remedy to this problem. An improvement in the
average landholding of small-scale farmers and allotting funds for agricultural
mechanization i.e. for machinery and equipment will become a guarantee that the
investment will be returned. President Rodrigo Duterte, in the early years of his
administration has promised to liberate rural Filipinos from poverty by distributing land to
farmers… but during his tenure, job growth has slowed while prices for commodities like
rice have soared (New York Times, 2019).
While there are farmer groups, NGOs and even concerned citizens who take the
initiative in helping the farmers recover, it is the government and the system at its very
core that can make a vast difference. A crucial question, however, is that can we really
ask more from a government that doesn’t make us a priority? The Philippines has vast
lands suitable for agriculture, and there is so much potential in this industry but no one
seems to bat an eye. The farmers’ call for help is loud enough, others just choose not to
listen. When they get too loud, they are silenced. We should not remain deaf and blind
to the distress of the ones who bring food on our tables and feed the entire country– the
Filipino farmers.

References:
Alindongan, J. (2015, October 21). Farmers hit hard by Koppu storm in Philippines. Al
Jazeera English. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIYxZDJYTxI
Antonio, R. (2020, November 4). Farmer’s group seeks aid for ‘Rolly’ victims in Bicol.
Manila Bulletin. https://mb.com.ph/2020/11/04/farmers-group-seeks-aid-for-rolly-
victims-in-bicol-1/
Campos, O. (2020, November 2). Typhoon 'Rolly' destroys P1.1 billion worth of crops.
Manila Standard. https://manilastandard.net/business/csr-mining/338451/typhoon-
rolly-destroys-p1-1-billion-worth-of-crops.html
CIDA-LGSP (Canadian International Development Agency-Philippines-Canada Local
Government Support Program). 2003. Re-Envisioning Local Agricultural
Development: A Guide for Development Managers.
Conde, M. (2020, May 7). For Philippine farmers reeling from disasters, lockdown is
another pain point. Mongabay. https://news.mongabay.com/2020/05/for-philippine-
farmers-reeling-from-disasters-lockdown-is-another-pain-point/
Dy, R. (2019, November 30). The tales of two agricultures: Philippines and Vietnam.
Agriculture Monthly. https://www.agriculture.com.ph/2019/11/30/the-tales-of-two-
agricultures-philippines-and-vietnam
Evangelista, A. (2018, December 19). A Staple Problem? History of rice crisis in the
Philippines. Rappler. https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/history-rice-crisis-
philippines-yearend-2018
Goodman, P. (2019, December 27). Philippine peasants were promised land. Staking a
claim can be deadly. New York Times.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/27/business/philippines-duterte-poverty-
farmers.html
Ortigas, M. (2014, February 15). Typhoon-hit Philippine farmers seek help. Al Jazeera
English. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WL_j7HCfQU
Oxfam (2014, February 6). Poorest people left behind by Philippines Typhoon
response. https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/poorest-people-left-behind-
philippines-typhoon-response