Top businessmen shift to Agricultural Production

Every generation needs a revolution - an entrepreneurial revolution

Realizing the importance of food security in nation building and for the uncertain times, two notable moves were published:    MPIC investing in an agri concern, a real estate and construction mogul resigning to head into agri

We need more of our talents to do this.  And more investments

When still in academe, I tried albeit vainly to connect an agri govt school to connect with the GSB.  

It should be pursued.   

This post admire the  move of KSA to invest heavily in agriculture turning dessert to bloom for self sufficiency in agri and even exports.  

Why cant we do this?   (Because of graft?   I remember the  time when I got invitation  (albeit in a talk talk situation) to run a farmers bank.    Was I glad I hehawed or did not even consider this.   The Pres at that time was involved in agri funds scandal.   

Can we modernize the agriculture technology and productivity? Can the promises be kept?

Every generation needs a revolution - an entrepreneurial revolution

This post was amazed by a video on Saudi Arabia modernizing its agriculture.   Their agri contributes about $18.00 billion to their GDP.  Who woud think that this could happen to a country largely covered by desert?

May be Saudi leaders saw that they could not be too dependent on oil exports and coulld not  dependent on agri imports  

It employed several techniques much known to our leaders in achieving such self sufficiency and surplus

     1.   Water

           1.  Tapping aquifers

           2.  Desalination plants

     2.  Helping farmers

          1.  Interest free loans

          2   Technical assistance

    3.  Massive investments in agriculture and technologies    (about $20 billion)

Saudi Agriculture

Why cant we achieve the same level of sufficiency and modernization.  We have some of the best schools in agriculture:    UPLB and CLSU  (2/3 of CLSU faculty are doctorate)   Our Sec of Agriculture is no less than the President.   We have plenty of rains and water in the Philippines.   We do not need desalination plants like Saudi

Why are we having shortages in onions, garlic, and lately in eggs   and oh yes sugar and rice.  This is an embarrassment (All tallks lang during the campaign to modernize agriculture? More passion needed

I met Dr. Tito Cantado who owns a company that produces Noni Juice and he bewailed the state of agriculture world wide (as he served as consultant of FAO.   The focus on subsistence farming 

and traditional farming are roadblocks to agricultural productivity   Corporate farming, leases to agricultural lands under land reform (as what DOLEfil  is doing at Gensan

Let us wake up men.