Argel Cabatbat On Agricultural Sustainability In The Face Of Climate Change

Written By Ralph Lozada

The current pandemic has given no reprieve to the dire conditions that already plague the Philippines, instead further weighing down upon the farmers that serve as the backbone of this country’s agricultural production. All of these could spell disaster for the country that is already greatly affected by the COVID-19 crisis.

In an interview with Congressman Argel Cabatbat of the Magsasaka Partylist, he discussed the troubling aspects of Filipinos’ over-reliance on imported produce and the unsustainability of the currently utilized food system. 

“Ang current food system natin, we are dominated by mega farms — malalaking kompanya sa abroad sa Western countries na ang may-ari ay malalaking kapitalista,” he warned. 

(The current food system we have is dominated by megafarms — large Western companies from abroad whose owners are large capitalists.)

Cabatbat placed great emphasis on moving towards both local food security and sovereignty for priority to be given by the system.

“We should be able to support our local farmers, last resort na talaga ang mga imports [imports should really be used as a last resort],” he expressed.

Despite the richness of natural resources the country boasts, it does not hold up well when talking about the present state of the agricultural sector. The lack of any serious large-scale cultivation and development is largely to blame.

Also, with the effects of climate change already rearing their ugly heads — ranging from unworkable weather patterns to downright devastation from tropical cyclones and droughts  — the country's already ailing agricultural sector has never been more at risk.

A joint report by the World Bank Group (WBG) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), stresses that the Philippines has one of the highest disaster risk levels in the world, and is projected to intensify as climate change progresses further.  Even for a country that frequently experiences strong typhoons within a year, the level of danger the country faces should not be left ignored.

Just last year, in December, Typhoon Rai (locally known as “Odette”), ravaged many prominent areas of Visayas, Northeastern Mindanao, and Palawan, incurring heavy damages across all boards. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported the damage to be an estimated 10 million hectares of affected croplands, as well as massive losses in both infrastructure and livestock. 

“Hindi naman substantial yung contribution sa climate change ang Pilipinas, ngunit tayo ang nagdurusa.” 

Cabatbat at a campaign sortie with Romblon residents.

(The Philippines' contribution to climate change is not substantial, but we are the ones who are suffering.)

“Lalo na ang mahihirap,” he added. 

(Especially the poor.)

Moreover, he stressed that most Filipino farmers live in poverty. Though the rest of the world will have a hard time dealing with this problem, it's the poorest among the countries that will suffer greatly.

When asked what could be done to mitigate the effects on our farmers, he replied, “Well you cannot really safeguard farmers from the wrath of climate change … kailangan mapigilan ang pag-init ng mundo [global warming must be stopped] — that is the best way to really secure the wellbeing of our farmers.”

The representative urges that the main contributors to pollution should commit to reducing their carbon footprint for the sake of the future. He noted that massive first-world countries such as China and the US, both having the highest reported rates of CO2 emissions, should make it their priority to cut their impact as much as possible for the sake of developing countries that would be left vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

He commented, “Sila dapat ang magcompensate sa mga mahihirap na bansa na nagdudurusa dahil sa climate change.” 

(They [the main contributors] should be the ones to compensate the poor countries that are suffering because of climate change.)

As for ways to mitigate in the meantime, he suggested that a shift to renewable energy sources should be an avenue that is needed to be explored. 

According to Cabatbat, “We have enough tech laws that allow for the transfer of those technologies [renewable energy-based tech] to take place here in the Philippines.”

He explained that one of the known methods is through “tax incentives” to allow for innovations to enter and thrive within the country.  He also cited that most institutions are investing in projects that are centred on battling against climate change.
An example he cited was an initiative intended to accrue foreign capital, which he hopes will be used for more businesses to develop their ventures that align intending to develop solutions for the climate change problem.

“We really should be very creative,” he stated in addressing the problem.  

Though these projects will require lots of patience and resources also come with their own batch of complications,  he assured that “even if you are creative and the law is not as creative as you are, meron mga [there are] impediments.” 

“Iyan ang tinuro sa amin as lawmakers [That is what we — as lawmakers — have been taught]; we have to adjust to the creativity of our people and be able to make a conducive environment.”

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Images from the Magsasaka Party-list’s Facebook Page