MARLEN V. RONQUILLO
FROM what fictional data the Department of Agriculture (DA) will base its upcoming pronouncement of a “growth rate”for the agriculture sector for the year 2019 is something beyond the ability of small farmers like me to comprehend. Small farmers know one thing though: William Dar, the current Agriculture secretary and a technocrat, is eminently capable of producing a made-up data set on “growth.” Government statisticians, bending to the will of those in power, will be willing abettors.