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Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Analyst to gov’t: Focus on agriculture,services
The inevitable global crisis due to the increasing price of oil in the world market should prompt government to focus its economic development plan for the Philippines on areas that the country is uniquely positioned to have, such as agriculture and the services sector, according to financial analyst Peter Wallace.
“The government is trying to concentrate on so many things. We should exploit our edge,” he said during an economic briefing at the City Sports Club Cebu.
Wallace said the services sector, specifically the business process outsourcing services (BPOs), is one of the bright spots of the Philippine economy.
BPOs include information technology (IT) and IT-related services, call centers and other backdoor operations. Care giving and tourism are also areas that the Philippines is relatively good at.
“Because of culture, Filipinos love old people. Why don’t we bring the oldies from the US and Europe here (to the Philippines) and take care of them,” Wallace said.
But before the country could attract more investments to the services sector, he said the government has to address first the declining quality of education in the country due to the lack of educational facilities such as classrooms, desks and other learning materials.
On the lack of classrooms, Wallace’s suggestion is to use churches, which can be found in almost all areas in the country, as alternative classrooms.
He also said the curricula of universities also need revision, as these are too broad.
“Each curriculum should address the need of the corresponding industry, where the student would work in the future.
Subjects such as geography and mathematics, among others, should not be included anymore,” Wallace said.
Wallace also said the Philippines can be the largest exporter of agriculture products, if it develops the needed infrastructure.
In Cebu, most of the agricultural areas are found in the municipalities of Dalaguete, Alcoy, Argao and Sibonga. These towns supply Cebu City with vegetables, spices and other agro-products.
Earlier, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Donald Dee urged more people to engage in farming and produce for their own and the country’s consumption.
“A nation, to keep its economic independence, must produce its own food in sufficient quantity. That is the only way that we can ensure that other nations will not use food supply as a blackmail weapon against us in times of crisis. For developed countries like Japan, the European Union and the US, food self-sufficiency is equal to national security,” he said.
With the political crisis, the oil price uncertainties, struggle to keep RP export competitive and infrastructure spending constraint, Wallace has forecasted that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) will only be a five percent per annum beyond 2006.
GDP is the total value of the products and services produced by the country. (JBN)
(September 28, 2005 issue)
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