Marcos’ Green Revolution

IN 1962, not long before Ferdinand Marcos was elected president, the Philippines was at the forefront of pioneering scientific research on rice that introduced high-yielding varieties to the country. Supported by several international agencies, including the Rockefeller and Ford Foundations, the main goal was to increase food production. Working at the newly established International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), in Los Baños, Laguna, scientists from all over the world developed a type of rice that produced heavy heads of grain that grew on short, robust stalks able to bear the weight of the grain without toppling over. This rice variety, called IR-8, required intensive irrigation, plenty of fertilizer, and chemical pesticides, to flourish. Output doubled. Between 1962 to 1964 and 1983 to 1985, with steady increases in between, rice yields rose from 1.24 to 2.48 metric tons of palay per hectare.

The increase was spectacular and unprecedented. For the first time, the chance to effect real equitable change in the lives of the poor was within the government’s grasp. However, despite its promising start, the green revolution in the Philippines did not deliver the gains it was supposed to. Not only did it fail to improve the conditions of the poor but, ironically, the poor slid further into hardship. The opportunity was squandered. What happened?