Persistent misconceptions

HAVING taught graduate courses on development theories and agriculture development at the University of the Philippines at Los Baños where I also once served as one of its vice chancellors, I cannot help but correct many misconceptions and lies being peddled by advocacy groups on the nature and status of our agriculture and food systems. Unfortunately, these canards have become effective propaganda materials where planning for high and sustained growth for our agricultural sector and improving the lot of our farmers and fishers in the medium and long run has become an almost impossible task because of wrong data and information fed to the public. As any good planner or strategist will tell you, a good plan largely depends on getting the right information and data. Similarly, in the field of medicine, effectively curing or preventing a disease or illness will depend on whether the doctor has a correct diagnosis before a cure is administered.

What are these agriculture development misconceptions that are continually being peddled in our media, both conventional and social? I can identify five major ones, starting with: importation of agricultural and food products is bad and unnecessary because the Philippines is capable of producing all its food requirements. Policymakers who favor imports are maliciously labelled as "import lovers" and anti-farmer because they prefer imported products more than local produce.