The agriculture, health and education nexus – 1

Here is the rewritten blog post with a polished and professional tone

The Agriculture-Health-Education Nexus A Call to Action for Philippine Development

The agriculture sector plays a vital role in our economy, providing sustenance, raw materials for processing, and employment opportunities. However, its low productivity has significant implications for our health and education outcomes.

Agriculture supplies the food processing industry with raw materials, which are then transformed into goods such as native delicacies, candies, beverages, and canned meat or fish. This sector is a driving force behind agriculture's growth and accounts for nearly half of our total manufacturing industry.

The law of supply and demand underscores the importance of an ample supply of cereals, meat, and fish products to support the food processing industry. When supply meets demand, prices tend to decline; when demand outstrips supply, prices rise.

Philippine agriculture is characterized by low productivity, with supplies falling short of demand across various agricultural commodities. This is reflected in our total factor productivity (TFP), which lags behind neighboring Asian countries.

The growth of the food processing and beverage industry, despite the lackluster performance of our agricultural sector, can be attributed to its high import dependence. However, this reliance on imports also highlights the importance of addressing the underlying issues plaguing our agricultural sector.

The availability, affordability, and quality of food have a direct impact on our people's health. Inaccessibility due to low farm productivity and high prices can lead to poor nutrition outcomes, which are starkly reflected in our nation's statistics.

According to recent data, stunting among Filipino children aged 0-5 years is alarmingly high at nearly 24 percent, with wasting rates reaching 5.6 percent for the same age group. These figures are among the highest in Southeast Asia and warrant urgent attention.

Malnutrition has significant implications for our education sector as well. The learning capacity of an individual is directly correlated to nutrition, with 90 percent of brain development occurring during the first five years of life. If malnutrition affects half of our population who struggle to afford a nutritious diet, this segment is at risk of serious learning disabilities.

Official statistics underscore this concern. The Education Commission reports that functional illiteracy among Filipinos stands at around 22 percent, meaning that while most can read and write, they lack comprehension skills. Among high school graduates, 18 million are functionally illiterate, setting them up for challenges in the labor market.

The World Bank has also reported that learning poverty in the Philippines is a staggering 90 percent, indicating that nine out of ten Filipino children are unable to read and understand simple texts.

To address these pressing issues, we must dramatically increase the productivity of our agricultural sector. This has been the Department of Agriculture's (DA) mantra for generations, but it continues to fall short of achieving this goal.

If local production cannot meet demand, imports can help alleviate pressure on prices. However, the fear is that increased importation will harm local farmers who struggle to compete with cheaper and higher-quality imports.

The DA's solution is to erect a protective wall through outright import bans or high tariffs to safeguard local farmers. This policy is justified as a pro-small farmer measure and an act of patriotism, encouraging consumers to patronize locally produced products regardless of their quality and affordability.

While the government claims to be implementing measures to make our farmers more efficient, the results show that our agricultural sector remains underdeveloped and food prices exorbitant. This has led to widespread malnutrition and stunting among Filipinos, particularly children, resulting in significant learning poverty outcomes.

We cannot afford to wait decades for our agricultural sector to transform or continue protecting local farmers at the expense of consumers. It is time to find a balance between supporting small farmers and ensuring affordable and nutritious food for all Filipinos.

Keywords Agriculture, health, education, nutrition, malnutrition, learning poverty, food security, productivity.

Edward Lance Arellano Lorilla

CEO / Co-Founder

Enjoy the little things in life. For one day, you may look back and realize they were the big things. Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.