Birds Of A Feather Flock Together – An Agricultural Advice For The Cordillera Autonomous Region

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On 19 September 2019, the Cordillera Autonomous Region, CAR, via the Cordillera Regional Development Council, adopted the Cordillera Regional Development Plan 2017-2022 Midterm Update that detailed the region’s strategic thrusts for 2020-2022[1] (ANN, Cordillera Autonomous Region, National Economic & Development Authority):

The Regional Plan is aligned with the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022 (that) serves as the current administration’s strategy for national development anchored on enhancing social fabric (malasakit), reducing inequality (pagbabago), and increasing growth potential (patuloy na pag-unlad).

Be that as it may, I keep looking for the in/dependent CAR plan for regional development in the next 20 years, but I cannot find any. So, the CAR is left saying, above, ”enhancing social fabric” and “reducing inequality” and “increasing growth potential.” The CAR has no Vision, Mission, Goal and Strategy by itself, which I think is unfortunate. So it cannot plan except vaguely what development programs have to be done for the indigenous peoples – Igorots – of the Cordillera. (Image of young eagle leaping into freedom for the first time from Manila Bulletin[2].)

I suggest a Vision, and it could be something dreamable like

Cordillera, The Vegetables Capital of the Philippines.

“Vegetables,” plural. Each province of the Cordillera could select its preferred vegetable to grow and attract customers from all over Luzon.

Now note the superimposed images above: Secretary of Agriculture William Dar and Sadanga Mayor Gabino Ganggangan in a press conference “on efforts to end local Communist armed conflict, the Covid-19 situation, (and) regional development” (from Facebook sharing of PIA Cordillera, 19 June 2020).

When Manong Willie was Director General of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, ICRISAT, based in India, from 2000 to 2014, ICRISAT had an achievable Vision: Science with a human face. Science in the service of the people.

Now that the CAR linkage with the DA has been achieved, I suggest that the CAR strengthens its ties with this government agency so that the autonomous region can receive any combination of the assistances that the DA is providing farmers all over the country. That’s why I suggested Cordillera as The Vegetables Capital of the Philippines. (And by the way, Manong Willie has a PhD in Horticulture that he obtained from UP Los Baños in 1987; if you did not know, Vegetables (Olericulture) is 1/4th of the concerns of Horticulture; the other 3 are Flowers (Floriculture), Trees (Pomology),

Importantly, your vegetable farming in each CAR province should be run by multi-purpose coops, which I call Super Coops, which then takes care of everything: seeds, fertilizers, organic pest & disease control agents. loans, technologies, systems, machinery, drying, warehousing – up to marketing. Yes, the marketing should be done by the Super Coop, to protect the interest of the farmers.

And you know what? All these thoughts have been simmering in my mind since I came to know William Dar, when he was still DG of ICRISAT. He retired as DG in 2014 – but there is still much genius and guts in him to watch out for!@517


[1]http://car.neda.gov.ph/rdc-car-discusses-gains-remaining-challenges-and-development-strategies-in-updated-regional-development-plan/

[2]https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/08/26/cordillera-autonomous-regions-time-has-come-1/

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