The Philippines exports its agricultural products around the world,
including the United States, Japan, Europe, and ASEAN countries (members
of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations). Major export products
are coconut oil and other coconut products, fruits and vegetables,
bananas, and prawns (a type of shrimp). Other exports include the
Cavendish banana, Cayenne pineapple, tuna, seaweed, and carrageenan. The
value of coconut-product exports amounted to US$989 million in 1995 but
declined to US$569 million by 2000. Imported agricultural products
include unmilled wheat and meslin, oilcake and other soybean residues,
malt and malt flour, urea, flour, meals and pellets of fish, soybeans
and whey.
One of the most pressing concerns of the agricultural sector is the
rampant conversion of agricultural land into golf courses, residential
subdivisions, and industrial parks or resorts. In 1993 the nation was
losing irrigated rice lands at a rate of 2,300 hectares per year. Small
land-holders find it more profitable to sell their land to developers in
exchange for cash, especially since they lack capital for seeds,
fertilizers, pesticides, and wages for hiring workers to plant and
harvest the crops. Another concern is farmers' continued reliance
on chemical-based fertilizers or pesticides that have destroyed soil
productivity over time. In recent years however, farmers have been
slowly turning to organic fertilizer, or at least to a combination of
chemical and organic inputs.
Environmental damage is another major concern. Coral-reef destruction,
pollution of coastal and marine resources, mangrove forest destruction,
and siltation (the clogging of bodies of water with silt deposits) are
significant problems.
The agriculture sector has not received adequate resources for the
funding of critical programs or projects, such as the construction of
efficient irrigation systems. According to the World Bank, the share of
irrigated crop land in the Philippines averaged only about 19.5 percent
in the mid-1990s, compared with 37.5 percent for China, 24.8 percent for
Thailand, and 30.8 percent for Vietnam. In the late 1990s, the
government attempted to modernize the agriculture sector with the Medium
Term Agricultural Development Plan and the Agricultural Fisheries
Modernization Act.
Sa aking opinyon, ang Pilipinas ay nakadepende sa Agrikultura. Kahit sabihin natin na umuunlad ang bansa sa Industriyalismo, aasa parin tayo sa mga produkto agrikultura upang kumita ang bansa. Sa panahon ngayon, hindi masyado binibigayan halaga ang Agrikultura. Katulad ng sinabi sa seleksyon, halos karamihan ng lupain pang agrikultura ay ginagawang golf courses, residential
subdivisions, at industrial parks o resorts. Dahil dito nauubusan na ng mga lupain ang mga magsasaka. Karamihan ng magsasaka ngayon ay walang sariling lupa. Sila ay nagsasaka sa mga taniman na pagmamay-ari ng pamahalaan, ibig sabihin kailangan pa nilang magbayad ng buwis bawat buwan upang makapagsaka. Hindi dapat ganito ang paraan ng pagsasaka. Imbis na mas nakakatulong ang pamahalaan upang paunladin ang pagsasaka sa Pilipinas, pinapalayo nila ang mga magsasaka. Kung may mga sariling lupa ang mga magsasaka, mas tataas ang produksyon ng bigas at pwede rin tumaas ang export rate nito sa ibang bansa. Sagana ang Pilipinas sa lupain at sana maisip ng pamahalaan na gamitin ang mga ito upang paunladin hindi lamang ang Agrikultura ng bansa kundi pati na rin ang mga buhay ng magsasaka.
Nakikita natin ngayon ang epekto ng pagiging "modernized" ng Pilipinas sa kapaligiran. Mga kotse sa kalsada, basura sa ilog at matataas ng struktura. Ang mga ito ay nakakasira sa likas na yaman ng Pilipinas. Sa paglipas ng panahon mapapansin natin na habang padami ang mga syudad, pakunti ang mga lupain. Ang tinatawag na "Environmental Degradation" ay laganap sa Pilipinas. Ang pagkaubos ng mga likas na yaman ay isang napakalaking problema. Sinabi ko nga na ang Pilipinas ay nakadepende sa Agrikutura, kapag naubos na ito magkakaroon ng malaking krisis. Kailangan maisip ng mga tao kung gaano kahalaga ang mga lupain at iba pang likas na yaman ng bansa. Kailangan din bigyan ng pansin ng pamahalaan ang pagkaubos ng mga ito.
Sa huli, ang masasabi ko lang ay nawala ang dating ganda ng Pilipinas. Noon tayo ang nauuna sa Agrikultura sa South East Asia. Pero sa paglipas ng panahon, natalo tayo ng mga katabing bansa tulad ng Thailand at China. Sana bigyan natin ng halaga ang Agrikultura ng bansa. Alagaan natin ito dahil kung hindi, mas malaking problema ang tatahakin natin sa kinabukasan.
One of the most pressing concerns of the agricultural sector is the
rampant conversion of agricultural land into golf courses, residential
subdivisions, and industrial parks or resorts. In 1993 the nation was
losing irrigated rice lands at a rate of 2,300 hectares per year. Small
land-holders find it more profitable to sell their land to developers in
exchange for cash, especially since they lack capital for seeds,
fertilizers, pesticides, and wages for hiring workers to plant and
harvest the crops. Another concern is farmers' continued reliance
on chemical-based fertilizers or pesticides that have destroyed soil
productivity over time. In recent years however, farmers have been
slowly turning to organic fertilizer, or at least to a combination of
chemical and organic inputs.
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