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Fields for FOF 08 July 2008 |
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LAST Thursday, July 03,
2008, divisive politics took the backseat to economic statesmanship, as
property developer and investor Kuok Group of Hong Kong and Southeast
Asia’s biggest food and beverage conglomerate, San Miguel Corporation,
forged a US$ 1-billion partnership to develop for the government
one-million hectares of idle lands. Easily, this is one of the biggest Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) in gross value, and is a major step towards attaining food security. The pledged investment of the two corporate giants, roughly equivalent to R45 billion at current exchange rates, dovetails with and slightly doubles the Government’s R43.7 billion programmed allocations for FIELDS or the Fertilizer, Irrigation and infrastructure, Education and extension, Loans and insurance, Dryers and post-harvest facilities, and Seeds program. The food security program of the two conglomerates, aptly called "Feeding Our Future" or FOF, will be off to an early or immediate start with as much as 3-million hectares already identified as potential sites for the program. Mr. Cojuangco said they will develop the areas as they become available. Kuok Group, which is also the largest palm oil trader, through Chairman Robert Kuok assured their long-term support for the program, given our pressing food requirements and the potential areas that we can develop. An important facet of this program is the firm assurance of financial and technical support from the twin conglomerates and the promise to buy all the produce, whether it is for food on the short-term or alternative fuels over the longterm. The Departments of Agriculture and of Agrarian Reform, together with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, will set the lead in identifying the suitable sites and determining the best crops or land utilization. The National Commission for Indigenous Peoples will also be tapped and mobilized, especially when there are people indigenous to the areas for development who will be affected. Initial estimates place the beneficiary families, for the targeted areas at about 100,000. Food security, according to Mr. Cojuangco, is a global issue. I hope that puts to rest any lingering doubts or questions on the global dimension of our food situation. FIELDS, while it is government’s long-term response to food security, has been accelerated in many aspects, so that these immediate global impacts are mitigated. As much as R4.15 Billion has been allocated for small irrigation for this year alone; R3.9 Billion is earmarked for fertilizers; R1 Billion is for seeds assistance; R15 Billion for farm-to-market roads over 2009 and 2010; R2 Billion for dryers and other post harvest facilities. These programs, developed before the crisis came full-blown, are a hedge and headstart. Last week’s PPP for Feeding our Future, anchored by SMC and the Kuok Group, is a further assurance and guarantee that we will eventually have ample food in every table, especially when we can transcend divisive politics. My good friend and SMC President Ramon Ang sums up the limitless potentials of FOF: "We are ready to help our government in any way possible, whether it is providing seed money to help farmers pay for shallow wells, basic agricultural inputs such as hybrid seeds and fertilizers and technical expertise." For our part in Government, the least we can do is match that commitment with full service on the ground and sustained line agency support, creating the FIELDS for the Food for Our Future. |
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