The Asian Development Bank revised its 2007 growth estimate for the Philippine economy from 5.8 percent to a higher 7 percent. The International Monetary Fund raised its projections from 6.34 percent to 6.7 percent. Citigroup Inc. projected a higher expansion of 7.1 percent for the Philippine economy in 2007. The World Bank had a growth of 6.7 percent for the Philippines, which was its highest projection among the four largest economies in Southeast Asia including Indonesia (6.3 percent), Malaysia (5.7 percent) and Thailand (4.3 percent).

A lot of this growth came from agriculture. One possible indicator of progress in the farm sector was the Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey that showed a sizable drop in the number of families suffering from hunger.

The relatively robust performance of Philippine farms appears more remarkable when set against the backdrop of a prolonged dry spell that was initially expected to devastate farms and pull down the growth rate for agriculture and fisheries.

How did the DA do it? Secretary Yap gives full credit to Malacañang. Yap explains that President Gloria Arroyo put a lot of money into rural infrastructure, post-harvest facilities and seed technology.

As a result, even the dry spell in Luzon ’s major rice-producing areas failed to stop agriculture from growing 4.3 percent in the nine months to September, with the fisheries subsector posting the biggest expansion at 7.92 percent, arising from a production volume worth P134.6 billion. Palay output reached 9.87 million MT for a 3.45 percent increase, while that of corn expanded 9.5 percent, as harvests totalled 5.29 million MT for the third quarter.

As for the other subsectors, livestock production increased by 2.06 percent during the third-quarter period, making up 13.08 percent of the total agricultural production for the first nine months of 1007. The livestock subsector grossed P117.9 billion at current prices, or a 4.39 percent more than the 2006 record.

The administration’s unprecedented spending for agriculture in 2007 was P3.1 billion allocated for the repair, rehabilitation and restoration of national and communal irrigation facilities in 2007. This P3.1 billion for agriculture was 10 times the average annual outlay that amounted to only P300 million in prior years – inclusive of funds for both foreign-assisted, locally-financed projects and other sources.

To guarantee the quality of Philippine farm products and reduce postproduction losses that undercut farm production and led to undue price spikes in basic commodities, the DA programmed P1 billion for about 1,000 units of various types of mechanical grain dryers. Three integrated post harvest processing centers have been completed and the DA is targeting an additional 50 centers all over the country, as well as about 50 assorted cold-chain facilities in major trading points.

In the area of R&D and rural extension work, the DA embarked on extensive studies on new technologies to further raise yields and planting areas through its various Ginintuang Masaganang Ani (GMA) programs, and promoted new varieties and reintroduced existing ones.

The centerpiece of this comprehensive plan to deal with the dry spell was a quick-turnaround program or QTA, which involved a third planting season in palay-producing areas unaffected by the dry spell. Implemented mostly in Mindanao. The QTA, which covered some 123,000 hectares of land, raised an additional 350,000 metric tons of palay and an extra 200,000 MT of corn.

One example of the DA’s farmer-friendly initiative was President Arroyo’s approval of Yap ’s proposal to increase the support or buying-price of palay from P 10.00 to P11.00 a kilo. Actually, the effective rate increase as approved by the Arroyo Cabinet last October was P11.25/kg for individual farmers and P11.50/kg for farmer cooperatives, inclusive of current incentives being offered by the government.

The DA, in conferences with LGUs and the PNP also addressed such sticky issues as the unnecessary checkpoints along major trade routes, questionable ordinances by LGUs and the ubiquitous presence of "kotong" cops. These unduly pad the cost of commodities from farms to their final destinations in urban markets.

The DA has won praises not only from the media but from Arthur Yap’s colleagues in the government service, leaders of Congress, the private sector and foreign institutions.

The Rome-based United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) cited President Arroyo’s "dynamic leadership," commitment and level of political will as the key to the success of the Philippines ’ ongoing initiatives to mitigate hunger and reduce poverty.

The US Department of Agriculture or USDA praised Secretary Yap for clearing the way to the full access of all American beef and beef products to the Philippine market in compliance with international trade standards.

Sen. Edgardo Angara, who chairs the Senate agriculture committee and himself a former DA secretary, had lauded Yap for his timely action to contain the spread of the Brontispa pest and, later, for the successful agricultural trade and investment mission to Spain.

Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, the author of the Biofuels Act, and Rep. Abraham Mitra, the chairman of the House food and agriculture committee, also commended Secretary Yap for his efforts to bring investments into the emerging Philippine biofuels sector.

The Bagong Buhay Multi-Purpose Cooperative (BBMC) in Mabini, Sto. Domingo, Nueva Ecija commended the DA for carrying out an array of timely intervention measures during the dry spell that helped them and the rest of the palay sector cope with this abrupt climate change and keep growth targets on track for the 3rd quarter and the entire year.

The PhilMaize Federation Inc., representing the corn industry, thanked the DA for ensuring that growth targets were met for this critical sector.

On rural credit, DA officials forged agreements with commercial institutions such as Allied Banking Corp. and government institutions like the Land Bank of the Philippines, which committed these banks to earmark significant portions of their lending funds to micro-financing programs that exclusively cater to small farmers and fisher folk.

To explore and open new and bigger markets for Philippine farm products, Yap had put up agricultural trade desks locally to complement the work of overseas-based attaches in tapping more investments for Philippine agriculture; spearheaded the country’s participation in several food exhibits and trade shows in Asia and Europe; and set up consumer-friendly barangay food terminals (BFTs) and bagsakan or drop-off points for farm goods in retail markets across Metro Manila and the other regions.

Secretary Yap tells his staff that the DA has a lot more on its plate in 2008 to sustain the farm sector’s growth momentum in the face of various global threats to the country’s food security

These serious challenges are regularly taken up at Arthur Yap’s meetings with DA officials and the heads of DA-attached agencies. They talk about climate change, which diminishes agricultural production and raises food prices across the globe; the ever-increasing food demand by burgeoning economies like China and India; and the rising conflict in certain countries between the production of crops for food and for biofuel feedstock Yap and his team immediately buckled down to work in 2008. For starters, DA officials say Yap has decided to incorporate the highly successful QTA program into the regular planting seasons beginning in 2008 as a way to increase yields.

Secretary Arthur Yap and the DA have an ambitious program to make the Philippines self-sufficient in most, if not all, of its indigenous or homegrown crops over the next 10 years. We can only hope for their success.