By Anthony A. Araos
Endless talks on providing loans to heavily-indebted farmers won’t solve their longstanding problems on increasing production unless the officialdom steer them in the right direction. Doing so at a forum ostensibly tasked to uplift the conditions of the men and women in the agriculture sector is utterly insensitive from any angle. No matter how well-intentioned the idea of updating participants on the Agriculture Credit Policy Council, the timing was simply bad.
“Loanism” is a tool of additional burden and nonsense that is not hard to understand during hard economic times. I truly hope Ifugao provincial government officials will devote time to feel the pulse of the long-suffering farmers.
Anyhow, it is hard to ignore a host of problems soil tillers are currently facing in this part of the country. For one, farmers are in dire need of reliable irrigation systems. Water is essential in raising rice, corn and other crops. This is a basic lesson in Agriculture 101. Yet this is unheard of during discussions at government-sponsored programs in Ifugao. Past and present board members are hard-pressed to provide funds for the construction of communal irrigation systems in the province’s 11 towns. This holds true for the governor and vice governor who are deluged with similar requests. Often, the response of provincial government bigwigs to such requests: “No funds available.” But, the problem is rather simple. It is just that those who walk in the corridors of power are not knowledgeable of the entire gamut of funding irrigation-related projects at the national level.
Anyway, it is still not too late in the day to end the problem of unirrigated farm lands in Ifugao. The province should take cognizance of the vitality of upgraded and modern irrigation infrastructure system. For it would bring numerous benefits such as boosting farmers’ incomes from increased production, help stabilize inflation and eventually improve the economy in the Cordillera Administrative Region.
Any which way, well-meaning officials like Representative Solomon Chungalao, Governor Jerry Dalipog and Vice Governor Glenn Prudenciano should realize that chance has come to irrigate Ifugao farm lands and do some more to upscale the whole spectrum of the agriculture sector. Do not squander this chance that should be made now.
Farmers also need post-harvest facilities like constructing warehouses equipped with solar dryers. In recent past, I heard reports that mechanical dryers that were given by the Department of Agriculture either have defects, incomplete, or couldn’t be connected to power sources due to interfacing incompatibility. Frankly speaking, this should be a thing of the past
Less than two years into office and with promises to promote public welfare in the minds of the people, the triumvirate of Congressman Chunglao. Governor Dalipog and Vice Governor Prudenciano should breathe a new life into the underutilized and underperforming agriculture sector of Ifugao. To get the best recognition and approval of the farmer-electorate, nothing matters more in an impoverished province like Ifugao than interventions in the form of facilities like irrigation. Let them work towards this, for when Ifugao awakens it will surprise many.
Any time, I am ready and willing to help Congressman Chungalao, Governor Dalipog and Vice Governor Prudenciano on this concern. The private sector could be the rational source of information and ideas to steer the discourse to a higher level. But how do they even go to that point, when the provincial government can’t even include a civilian speaker (peasant leader) in a forum? **
