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USING TECHNOLOGY FOR PRECISION AGRICULTURE AND DATA-DRIVEN AGRICULTURE GOVERNANCE

USING TECHNOLOGY FOR PRECISION AGRICULTURE AND DATA-DRIVEN AGRICULTURE GOVERNANCE For many years, the Philippines has been reacting to agricultural problems instead of anticipating them. When drought comes, we scramble. When typhoons strike, we rush for relief. When rice prices rise, we import more rice. But is that really the best we can do? As climate change intensifies, I believe the time has come for the government to embrace precision agriculture and data-driven governance on a national scale. The question is no longer whether technology is available. The question is whether we have the political will to use it effectively. Consider what other countries are doing. Indonesia, for example, has been encouraging farmers to adjust planting schedules, optimize irrigation systems, and use drought-resistant seeds in anticipation of severe El Niño conditions. Their government is actively using weather forecasts and agricultural data to guide decision-making. Are we doing the same in the Ph...
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A SHARP CRITIQUE OF OUR LAND REFORM PROGRAM

A SHARP CRITIQUE OF OUR LAND REFORM PROGRAM Recently, I came across a powerful essay written by Ms. Sharon Gick entitled "The Land Was Never Theirs to Give." Whether one agrees with all of her conclusions or not, her work deserves serious attention because it raises difficult questions about the real outcomes of agrarian reform in the Philippines. According to Ms. Gick, the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) did not fully liberate farmers from poverty. Instead, she argues that many beneficiaries received land titles accompanied by long-term debt obligations, while lacking access to credit, equipment, infrastructure, and support services needed to make their farms productive. Her most provocative observation is that many agrarian reform beneficiaries were given ownership documents but could not easily use these titles as collateral for financing. As a result, farmers often found themselves trapped between the need for capital and the inability to obtain it. Whether ...
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CEBU CITY MAKES HEADWAY WITH SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

CEBU CITY MAKES HEADWAY WITH SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT Republic Act No. 9003, otherwise known as the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, has been in force for more than twenty-five years. Yet despite the passage of time, many local government units (LGUs) have still failed to establish fully compliant Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs) as required by law. This raises an important question: Are we very good at making laws but not very good at implementing them? The recent initiatives of Cebu City suggest that the answer does not have to be that way. Under the leadership of Mayor Nestor Archival, Cebu City has launched its Eco Station-SRP and Materials Recovery Festival, demonstrating that solid waste management need not be complicated, expensive, or dependent on imported technology. In fact, the city is proving that practical solutions are already available. To put it simply, an MRF does not require rocket science. It mainly needs segregation, shredding, composting, recycling,...
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CHATTEL MORTGAGES CAN ENABLE COOPS TO ACQUIRE MORE AGRICULTURAL EQUIPMENT

CHATTEL MORTGAGES CAN ENABLE COOPS TO ACQUIRE MORE AGRICULTURAL EQUIPMENT When farmers complain about the lack of post-harvest facilities, what are they really talking about? More often than not, they are talking about the lack of equipment. Whether it is harvesting machines, dryers, sorters, rice mills, bagging equipment, packaging systems, tractors, tillers, or even construction equipment for farm-to-market roads, the real challenge is access to capital. Farmers and cooperatives need machines, but they often do not have enough collateral to secure loans. This is where an old but underutilized financial tool can make a big difference: the chattel mortgage. Unlike a real estate mortgage that requires land or buildings as collateral, a chattel mortgage uses movable property such as tractors, harvesters, trucks, trailers, rice mills, food-processing machines, and other equipment as security for a loan. In simple terms, the equipment being purchased can serve as its own collateral. Why is...
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CAN WE CLAIM UBE AS OUR OWN?

CAN WE CLAIM UBE AS OUR OWN? Whenever Filipinos see ube-flavored products being sold abroad—from ice cream and cakes to lattes and doughnuts—we feel a sense of pride. After all, ube has become one of the most recognizable symbols of Filipino cuisine. But can we honestly claim ube as exclusively our own? The answer is both yes and no. Yes, because the word “ube” is Filipino. It is part of our language, culture, and culinary identity. No, because the plant itself, scientifically known as Dioscorea alata , is not found only in the Philippines. It originated in a broader area of Island Southeast Asia and has been cultivated for centuries in neighboring regions as well. However, this should not stop us from pursuing something even more valuable: international recognition for uniquely Filipino varieties and products derived from ube. Consider how Mexico protects tequila, how France protects champagne, and how India protects Darjeeling tea. These products are not protected merely because of w...
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WHAT DOES THE PAX SILICA AGREEMENT MEAN FOR THE PHILIPPINES?

WHAT DOES THE PAX SILICA AGREEMENT MEAN FOR THE PHILIPPINES? The Philippines has reportedly become a signatory to the Pax Silica Initiative, a new international framework designed to secure supply chains for semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), critical minerals, computing infrastructure, and other technologies that will drive the global economy in the coming decades. At first glance, the agreement sounds very promising. After all, electronics and semiconductors already account for more than half of Philippine merchandise exports. If the country can move beyond simple assembly and testing toward higher-value activities such as chip design, advanced manufacturing, AI infrastructure, and mineral processing, then the benefits could be enormous. However, before we celebrate, we should ask some important questions. Are we really ready? The agreement reportedly includes plans for a 4,000-acre AI Industrial Hub within the Luzon Economic Corridor. This could attract billions of pesos ...
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NORWAY’S ROGFAST PROJECT IS PUSHING ENGINEERING LIMITS UNDER THE SEA

NORWAY’S ROGFAST PROJECT IS PUSHING ENGINEERING LIMITS UNDER THE SEA As the saying goes, it does not cost us any money to dream, so why not dream about good things for our country? After being surprised and scandalized by reports about questionable flood control spending, perhaps we should start asking a different question: what if those billions of pesos were invested in truly transformative public works projects that future generations could be proud of? One lesson we learned from those controversies is that the government is not necessarily lacking in money. What is often lacking is transparency, accountability, and the ability to monitor how public funds are spent. That is why I was fascinated by Norway’s Rogfast Project, a massive undersea highway tunnel that is now under construction. When completed, it will become the world's longest and deepest subsea road tunnel. Stretching about 27 kilometers beneath the sea and reaching a depth of approximately 392 meters below sea level...
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