Saturday, November 08, 2008 ‘Invest in agriculture’
AN economist urged the government to invest more in infrastructure—especially in farm-to-market roads, irrigation and other facilities—to make agricultural production in the country more efficient.
Economist Bernardo Villegas said agribusiness can contribute significantly to the country’s economy if the government continues to pour money into it.
He cited Thailand whose economy improved considerably because “it had the good sense to invest in infrastructure for its farmers.”
Thailand—which benefited from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), based in Los Baños, Laguna—is now the world’s top rice exporter.
Like Thailand, the Philippines should eye China as a key rice export destination as it has about 250 million high-income consumers, said Villegas.
Food suppliers
“Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines are going to be major food suppliers of China. For one, China already imports 60 percent of its banana supply from the Philippines. Businessmen in these three countries could look at investing in high-value agribusiness that also includes vegetables and fruits,” he said.
Agribusiness, the enterprise that derives revenues from sale of agricultural products, is in his list of selected sunrise industries in Asia, which were presented during the economic briefing of the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) at the Casino Español last Tuesday.
Rolando Dy of the Center of Food and Agribusiness agreed with Villegas, saying that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in general plays a key role in agribusiness development in the region.
During the fourth Tibuna España-Filipinas last Wednesday at the Casino Español, he said the Philippines’ competitive advantages lie in its strategic location and abundant supply of good managers.
Sunrise industries
Other sunrise industries Villegas cited are mining, transport, telecommunications, tourism, automobiles, consumer durables, information technology-enabled services, logistics and retailing, health care and medical tourism, education, construction and real estate, food, fashion, furniture and entertainment.
He urged Filipinos to change their mindset “from individualistic, parochial and protectionist to more outward-looking,” and to treat the global economy as a market.
“Cebu, for instance, has the potential to develop retirement homes for aging markets, like Japan and China, whose constituents would want to come here for health treatment for a period of six months,” he said.
Medical tourism and retirement villages also hold many opportunities for the country, even if it is currently threatened by a slowdown in consumer spending.
Villegas cited other opportunities, such as the continued demand by companies overseas for Filipino workers, which would mean further growth in remittances, continued influx of East Asian tourists, expansion in mining and energy investments, pump-priming the economy through public infrastructure spending, expansion of low- and medium-cost housing and office buildings, and increase in demand for business process outsourcing services.
While commercial banks have strict requirements for would-be borrowers, Villegas said those who need financing but do not have collateral can go to pawnshops. (NRC)
