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Nowadays,
the imperatives for development in the Philippines have become
stronger. The country faces major concerns common to most
developing countries - a large and rapidly growing population,
a depleting natural resource base, and stringent globalization
imperatives.
The Philippines’
population growth rate remains high, in fact higher than most
countries in Southeast Asia. The country’s population
of around 89 million people represents a seemingly insurmountable
challenge as far as achieving food security is concerned.
Food production
is highly vulnerable to effects of environmental degradation
and changes in climate (both natural and those caused by global
warming). Any short-term fluctuation in climate or disturbance
in the environment can have drastic effects on agricultural
production.
Complicating
these issues are the imperatives of globalization. The free
trade regimes pit Philippine agriculture against its more
vibrant (and apparently more subsidized) counterparts in the
North.
With all
these concerns, the Philippine agriculture must strike a balance
between increasing food production and sustaining the natural
resources while also reckoning with both the variability in
climatic conditions and the imperatives of globalization.
However,
Philippine agriculture suffers from low productivity, low
economies-of-scale, and inadequate infrastructure support.
And while there has been sector improvement in recent years,
food production to feed the growing population remains a major
concern.
But thanks
to agriculture science and technology (S&T), there is
still hope in the Philippines’ bid for sustainable development.
Agricultural
S&T holds the key to (i) reducing hunger through sustainable
food production; (ii) conserving and ensuring the sustainability
of the natural resources; (iii) improving health and nutritional
status; (iv) expanding employment and entrepreneurial opportunities
especially for the rural population; and (v) increasing the
competitiveness of small-scale farmers.
Future
increases in food production would primarily come from advances
in S&T as the expansion of land area for food production,
based on global projections, would not satisfy the expected
increases in food requirement.
And since
much of the projected population growth is expected to occur
in developing countries, like the Philippines, agriculture
S&T is a major imperative. After all, very few countries
achieved socio-economic development without S&T. (Don
Joseph M. Medrana, S&T Media Service)
References:
Faylon,
Patricio S. 2007. Science and Technology: Pillars of Sustainable
Development. A keynote message delivered during the S&T
Forum held on April 9, 2007 at the Central Luzon State University,
Muños, Nueva Ecija.
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